


Changing Fate Vol: 1 Reconsidering Life

by Ghostwriter87



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2020-02-27 08:07:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18735013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostwriter87/pseuds/Ghostwriter87
Summary: After death, Gemma discovers that SAMCRO’s fate veered off of its destined path.  Now she has a chance to change it all for the better.  Will she succeed?





	1. Second Chances

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Inspired by my fic Squandered Fate and is a **major** AU that will cover all seven seasons and a lot of things that happened in the series will **not** be happening in this fic and a lot of new things **will** be happening. I have the first two seasons all plotted out and vague ideas for season 3 onward. The first chapter here will mostly be the same as the first chapter of Squandered Fate but with a different ending. Everything familiar belongs to Kurt Sutter and his production company. I know that this first part of the fic is a rehash of the Pilot but I started out writing this fic one way and then realized it wasn’t working and decided to expand. I promise that the rest of the fic will be different.

Gemma looked around. Where was she? She had just been killed by Jax. She knew this. But she didn’t expect to be in a place of nothing.

“Gemma Morrow,” a voice uttered, causing her to jump.

“Teller-Morrow,” she corrected as she turned around, her brows furrowing in confusion at the woman in front of her. In some ways she reminded her of that bitch Murphy from St. Thomas but it obviously wasn’t. As far as she knew, she was still alive.

“Teller-Morrow then,” the woman accepted. “I’m Verona and obviously you’re dead,” she continued.

“Obviously,” Gemma snarked. _Great. I had to get a dumbass for a guide_ , she thought to herself. Not that she was sure she believed in such a thing. After all, none of the churches she had ever been in mentioned anything about a guide. And yet…here they were.

“You screwed up, Gemma. Royally,” Verona remarked. _Why didn’t she take the chance that she had been given?_ she wondered. She had been given the chance to make things good for her family and she had spit on it. Why? It didn’t make sense.

“Save me the speeches. You live, you die. That’s it,” the other woman dismissed. _Great. I’m going to have to listen to some new age shit before she tells me where I’m going_ , she groused. Oh well. Might as well get it over with. At least this way, the woman would shut her yap.

“You altered your fate. And the fate of your family,” came the response.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What are you talking about?” the biker queen wondered. Without a word, the second woman waved her hand and to Gemma’s surprise, they landed in Tara and Jax’s house. “What are we doing here?” she demanded. Then, to further her surprise, two teenagers dressed in good white shirts and blue slacks came running down the stairs.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey! Abel Teller, Thomas Teller, what have your father and I told you about running in the house!?” a familiar voice chided.

“Sorry, Mom,” the two boys chorused. Amazed, she watched as the two boys went to the kitchen.

“Okay, set the table. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Donna, and Uncle Opie will be here soon for Christmas dinner,” Tara told them and Gemma’s eyes widened when she saw the gold dress that the woman was wearing. It was soft and feminine, flattering her body but was still modest, a stark contrast of what an Old Lady would usually wear. _What is this shit?_ Gemma wondered. Without a word, Thomas and Abel went to do as they were told.

“What is this? What is she talking about, Christmas dinner? And why are they dressed like a couple of pussies?” she wondered. Before Verona could say anything, the house’s doorbell rang and Tara went to get it, smiling and opening the door.

“Gemma, Clay, hi!” she greeted happily. Gemma’s jaw dropped as she saw an older version of herself and her ex-husband walk in. They both wore black as was their thing, but like Tara’s apparel, it was softer.

“Hey honey. Jax out getting some last-minute things?” the older Gemma queried.

“Yeah. Plus there was some issue with a Prospect. Apparently, he got on Half Sack’s bad side,” the older Tara answered.

“Messed with Cherry, huh?” Clay surmised.

“Uh-huh,” Tara confirmed.

“Okay, what is this crap? Half-Sack was killed trying to save Abel and Opie died in County,” Gemma snapped.

“Not in this timeline,” Verona replied. “In this timeline, Half-Sack survived and he and Cherry ended up settling down. And Opie never went to lockup that second time,” she continued as more people walked in. Silently, Gemma watched as they all greeted each other happily, talking about everything and nothing, Jax, Cherry, and Half-Sack finally coming in.

“So Clay, is it as hard being out of guns as you thought it would be?” Jax presently asked.

“Surprisingly, no. You were right, Son. Going legit was the best thing for the MC,” Clay admitted.

“No way. Clay would never let it happen,” Gemma objected. He had stayed strong, kept the MC on track. What was this ‘going legit’ shit he was talking about?

“He did in this timeline,” Verona told her. “This is the life you could’ve had,” she continued. “But that’s neither here nor there.” With that, she waved her hand again and to Gemma’s surprise, they were on a highway.

“Where are we?” the former biker queen asked. For an answer, the other woman just pointed. Gemma followed her gaze and then her eyes widened as she saw her son release his hold on the handlebars of his motorcycle as he headed for the semi. “NO! NO! JAX, DON’T! NO! JAX!” The screams were ignored as Verona grabbed her, and poofed away. “NO! Go back you bitch and save him! You have to save Jax!” she screamed again.

“There **is** no saving him. He’s dead. And you drove him to it when you and Clay didn’t tell him the truth about his father committing suicide,” Verona replied.

“He didn’t need that knowledge in his head. It was better that he thought that he had been murdered. It was for his own good,” Gemma insisted.

“His own good? Or **your** own good?” Verona asked pointedly.

“ **His** ,” Gemma insisted again. “But he wasn’t supposed to die! He has his whole life ahead of him. You have to change it. Give us---him---another chance,” she continued. _I can’t let him die! I can’t let him die! He’s my baby boy! He’s supposed to grow old!_ she thought frantically.

“You got that when Tara came back to Charming. His happiness lies with her and you squandered it,” the other woman stated and the former queen’s face blanched. Yeah, that had been stupid. But she had been protecting the Club. At the time, she had thought that she had betrayed him, but now she could see what she had been doing. It would’ve been better for the Club.

“Please. Don’t let Jax die. I can’t bear it. He’s my son. He deserves to be happy,” she pleaded. _I didn’t want the club going legit because I thought it’d end us. But now Jax is gone. Nothing’s worse than that_ , she thought to herself.

“Do you really mean that?” the other woman queried. _If she does, maybe she’s worth giving another chance_ , she thought to herself.

“Yes.” If it meant keeping Jax alive, she’d do anything, even relinquish control over him. Correction: **especially** relinquish control over him. Looking back now, she could see how she drove him to a lot of the shit he had done, and how she had driven Tara to her choices. She didn’t want this for them.

“Okay. I’ll give you all one more chance.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ll have memories of this timeline and the one you’re creating. Everyone has free will of course and I’m not saying that you won’t have problems because you will, but the main thing to remember is to remember that your boy is a **man** and doesn’t always need his mother interfering with things.” Gemma nodded, resisting the urge to scowl. That was obviously a dig at how she had tried to keep Abel and Thomas in Charming and she didn’t appreciate it. However, she had enough sense not to say anything. After all, she didn’t want her changing her mind about giving her another chance. “Remember, if your son’s destiny gets too off course again, the result will be the same.”

“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it.” Making nice with Tara. That was going to be hard, but she’d do it. She’d do anything to make sure that Jax stayed alive. Without another word, Verona snapped her fingers and then---everything went black.


	2. Charming Town Part 1

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Lines and everything familiar belongs to Kurt Sutter and his production company. I only own the new stuff. At first, this will seem like the same stuff from the show but as the story progresses, it **will** deviate. It’ll just take time to get to that point, so please be patient.

Harry “Opie” Winston moaned as his alarm went off. _Ugh…not ready to get up_ , he thought to himself as he rolled over. However, instead of going back to sleep like he wanted to, he pulled the covers off of him and started to get dressed.

“Babe? Why are you getting up so early?” his wife, Donna asked as she cracked open an eyelid. “Your shift doesn’t start for a couple of hours,” she reminded.

“I’m taking a double today. I know money’s been tight and---” Donna leaned over and kissed him.

“I’m so proud of you,” she stated. Yes, she knew that there were times that he missed the Club but he was at least putting in the effort to earn straight. The least she could do was support him when he took the initiative to get more hours in order to provide for them, even though she was a bit unhappy that he hadn’t discussed it with her first.

“Thanks, Babe,” he replied. “I just hate that the kids barely know me,” he moped as he finished dressing. _Love them more than life itself and they barely tolerate me_ , he thought to himself.

“It’s an adjustment for them. Kenny and Ellie will warm up to you. I promise,” Donna replied. She started to say more but their ten-year old daughter, Ellie, appeared in the doorway, coughing heavily. “What’s the matter, Sweetie?” she wondered. _That doesn’t sound good_ , she thought to herself. Yeah she had dealing with a stomach bug for the last couple of days, but she **had** been getting better. Except, now she wasn’t.

“I don’t feel good,” the girl complained as she coughed heavily. _That **really** doesn’t sound good_, Donna mused. Was the stomach bug getting worse or had she caught something else?  Without warning, the girl threw up. _Shit_ , Opie thought to himself as he hurried towards her. Without even thinking about it, he picked her up, his brows furrowing in concern.

“She’s burning up,” he noted. _I don’t like this. What do I do? How do I help her?_ he wondered.

“I’ll go draw a bath. That sometimes helps when she has a fever,” his wife said and then went to do so. In the convenience store, Jax Teller perused the aisle of books, finally choosing a children’s story, smiling as he placed it in his cart. He wasn’t the greatest of men. Hell, he was an asshole---he would fully admit this---but he couldn’t **wait** to be a father. A father. Yeah…that was gonna take some getting used to. Wendy, he couldn’t believe it. _I can’t believe it. Gonna be a dad_ , he thought to himself. Was he ready for it? Not that it really mattered if he was ready or not because he was gonna damn well have to be. And to be honest, it scared the shit outta him. How could he be a father? He was in no way ready for it. But he was going to have to deal with it, obviously. But he was nervous as hell and he didn’t mind admitting it…well…to himself at least. To anyone else? Nope. Not happening. He just…he had to get his shit together. But he **needed** to talk to someone. Maybe Opie? Yeah, that could work. There was never any judgment from him and he could give him some advice about things. But in the meantime, he had work to do. His stepfather, Clay, wanted him to go to their weapons factory, which is why he had been up since shit-dark o’clock while his mother slept. With a sigh, he grabbed a pack of cigarettes, went to the checkout line, paid for the items headed out. He might as well get the perusal of the weapons storage out of the way. As he headed towards the building, a group of people entered the building, grabbing a case, pouring gasoline in and around the building, struck a match, and then ran out. Moments later, the place went up in a ball of flames with a loud BANG!

“Oh shit,” Jax muttered and then went to check it out. _This isn’t good_ , he thought to himself. Clay was gonna be pissed. He then pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number.

“Yeah?” he heard someone ask. “Our weapons storage was just torched. I’m thinking it was the Mayans since it’s the only crew we’ve had a beef with recently,” he reported.

“Shit,” came the response.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Come back. We need to have Church to figure this out.”

“I’m on my way.” With that, he headed out. Moments later, he pulled into Teller-Morrow Automotive and walked in, dropping his cellphone in a bin at the door before walking in and taking a seat next to Clay.

“This is bad. The One Niners already paid for that shipment of M-4s,” Clay Morrow declared. _This won’t end well for us. Need to figure out what to do so that it doesn’t spill into Charming_ , he mused.

“Aye. Laroy ain’t gonna be happy,” Filip “Chibs” Telford agreed. _I shoulda kept a better eye on those bloody Mexicans. Knew they were up to somethin’_ , he thought to himself. As Clay’s Sergeant-At-Arms, it was his job to plot for crap like this. And he had fucked up…big time.

“We need to find money to rebuild---fast, and also figure out a way to pay him,” Clay continued.

“What if we didn’t rebuild and used the land for something else?” Jax queried. _So tired of this shit_ , he thought to himself. Plus he was about to be a father and gallivanting all around Charming blowing shit up and getting into fights probably wasn’t a good idea.

“What are you talking about?” Clay wondered.

“Just hear me out. We hadn’t been using that particular storage as much as we used to and we only used it this time because of the size of the order and we were trying to figure out what to do with the other weapons because they couldn’t be sold. If we used the land for something else, it would be less heat for us,” Jax replied.

“And Laroy?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we can arrange a sit down, ask for more time.”

“Maybe. And you gotta remember, the unit was a good space. Optimum for weapons.” The rest of the club listened as the President and Vice-President talked. _What’s going on with Jax?_ Alex “Tig” Trager wondered. Sure he was preoccupied with a kid on the way, but not rebuilding the weapon storage? That was just crazy. _What’s up with Jax? Why would he go against Clay?_ Juice Ortiz wondered. Did he have a death wish or something? Clay could be violent as fuck and everyone knew it. Granted, he was still nervous around the guy because he had only been fully patched in about a month ago, but still…what Jax was doing wasn’t smart and that made him nervous because Jax usually played things smart. “Jax, you and I will pay a visit to Laroy later to see if we can’t straighten this shit out.” Jax nodded and followed his stepfather, going to their bikes and heading out.  Meanwhile, Gemma moaned as her alarm blared. _Ugh…too early_ , she thought to herself. But then again, she **always** thought that. Well, no matter, she would have to get up anyways. At least she had woken up from that damn dream. Imagine…Jax committing suicide. No way. He would **never** do something so stupid. Rolling over, she saw that the bed was empty. _I’m alone?_ she thought. Well, that figured. She had a whacked-out dream and woke up alone. But it wasn’t like Nero to leave the bed, even though they hadn’t really been getting along recently. Nero. Why couldn’t she be happy with him? Oh, she was fond of him and he made her feel good about herself…not to mention the sex was fucking hot, but…she always felt… **restless** with him for some odd reason. Like she wasn’t where she belonged. Her musings were interrupted by the alarm and with an irritated moan, she reached over and slammed a hand down on the button.

“Shut up, you piece of shit,” she grumbled and then sat up and got out of the bed. Then, she froze. This wasn’t her room. At least…not the room she was remembering. _Where am I?_ she wondered. Okay, phone. Phone. She needed her phone. It had the date on it. If she had a date, she could figure out her next move. She looked around until she noticed the phone on the nightstand and grabbed it, going to the date. September third, 2008. The day Abel was born. And fucking Wendy took crank. Ugh. This day had been shit the first time around. And now she had to do it all over again? Terrific. Well, she might as well get it started and make nice so that Tara and Jax could make themselves a happy little family. With a sigh, she quickly got up and got dressed, choosing a white blouse, a black vest, with black jeans, and black shoes. After she got dressed, she went about her morning, quickly making sure she had everything she needed since like before, she was running hellishly late. _A chance to change it all. To make sure we’re all happy_ , she thought to herself. She wanted that---for herself, and for Jax. And that meant making sure that he and Tara were happy together. Today was gonna be shit. She should really throttle Wendy. No. That wouldn’t help and it could possibly harm Abel. Sweet Abel. She would never do anything to hurt him. She checked the time and made a face. She had to go pick up the meat from the German. Where had the day gone? Oh right. She had partied too hard the first time so she had set her alarm for later and now she was feeling it even though technically; this had happened like six years ago. Wonderful. Apparently, time travel was a bitch. Time travel. She still couldn’t get her head around this. Giving herself a mental shake, she grabbed her keys and her purse, went to her car, and headed out, dialing a number.

“Hey, Ma.” Hearing the love and fondness in Jax’s voice, Gemma nearly sobbed. He sounded so carefree. She loved it. Things had been so simpler during this time. And this time, they were going to stay that way, she’d see to it. She wouldn’t let Jax die.

“Did you go to storage?” she asked, trying to keep her voice normal.

“Not yet,” he stated.

“Well, if there’s something you can use---I haven’t looked through that baby stuff in years,” she commented. Not since…Thomas. But that had all changed with Abel’s birth. Okay, she couldn’t think like that. She was supposed to sound like she didn’t have a care in the world. And she **didn’t**. Things would go her way and she would have her son. And that was all that mattered.

“Anything will help,” he conceded. “Listen, we might be a little late tonight. Clay and I gotta visit Laroy and straighten some shit out. The Mayans hit us.”

“Well shit. Be safe baby. You still coming to dinner tomorrow night? I’m picking up steaks from the German.” There we go. The conversation was back on track, going the way it had the first time around. Jax wouldn’t know that something was amiss.

“Oh you know it.”

“You should bring Chibs and that new kid.”

“New kid doesn’t eat meat.” She looked at the phone. What? Oh right. The kid was a vegan or a vegetarian or something. She’d have to ask someone what it was so that she could plan better in the future.

“Okay, then I’ll pick up a salad or something that he can eat,” she responded.

“Ma, you feeling okay? That doesn’t sound like you,” Jax commented. _She doesn’t usually offer to accommodate people. What’s up with that?_ he wondered.

“Turning over a new leaf, smart ass,” she stated.

“All right,” he answered. “Oh hey, have you heard from my crazy ex-wife?” he wondered. _No, but knowing her, she’s probably pumping herself full of shit_ , she thought to herself. And the fact that they were gonna have to deal with this shit again pissed her off. But…on the plus side, getting Jax and Tara together would ensure that Wendy didn’t end up raising Abel. And yes, that had irked her. And made her sad. Wendy had never been right for Jax. His face didn’t light up with her like it had with Tara.

“She doesn’t answer her phone at all,” he continued, breaking into her thoughts.

“Yeah, well, that’s because she knows it’s **you** ,” she pointed out. _Damn, hate that stupid bitch_ , she thought to herself. At least she was getting a grandson out of her though.

“Yeah, well, she’s supposed to be sending me doctor bills but I haven’t seen anything for three weeks,” he stated. _I just wish she’d let me take care of things. This is my son_ , he mused. He wasn’t going to shirk his responsibilities. No, he’d step up. Even if there were parts of him that were scared to death and other parts wishing that it was Tara and not Wendy who was the mother. _Son of a bitch_ , Gemma thought. What was Wendy thinking? Oh, right. She wasn’t. This wasn’t the Wendy who had worked with Tara to take her boys away from her. This was the Wendy who was a strung-out junkie. And she would have to help her--- **again**. Fuck her life. _I couldn’t have been dropped off at the point of time when Tara was tolerable and Wendy was already gone?_ she grumped. No, she shouldn’t complain. This was a second chance for them. She would have to play this by their rules. Well…to an extent…anyways.

“I’ll go by on my way home and check in on her,” she assured her.

“Thanks…Grandma.”

“Asshole.” She chuckled and then hung up. Oh, it felt good to be able to talk to him again. And if she had anything to say about it, he was going to stay around for a very long. Okay. Steak and then check on Wendy. She wasn’t too worried about the junkie whore. She had survived last time and she would be fine by the time she got to her. Pushing Jax’s ex-wife out of her head, she went to the German guy she had, got her meat, and then headed for Jax’s house where he had put Wendy. When she got there, she didn’t even bother to call for her, but went to the back of the house where she was right where she had been last time: passed out, high on meth. _Stupid junkie bitch_ , she thought bitterly as she unlocked the door. Abel had just better be okay this time around. Once the biker queen was inside, she went to the woman, checked for a pulse---which she had---and called nine-one-one. Now all she had to do was make nice with Tara. A few moments later, the ambulance arrived and she watched as they did their thing and then loaded the younger girl into the ambulance and she followed them in her car, arriving at the hospital a few moments later. _Please let Abel still be okay_ , she thought to herself. He had to be…right? After all, in that future she was shown, Abel had been a teenager, so that meant that he would be all right. She sighed worriedly as Wendy was wheeled away and then her eyes locked onto a woman she hadn’t seen for a whole year. “Tara,” she murmured.


	3. Charming Town Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX Productions. I only own the new stuff and the deviations from the series.

She saw Tara’s eyes flicker when she heard her name being murmured.

“Gemma,” she stated, her voice tight. _Not what I need right now_ , the doctor thought. _I’m at work and I have to prove myself_ , her monologue continued. _She’s defensive. Wonder why. I mean…I know something happened in that other timeline with an ATF agent but I wasn’t really paying attention_ , the biker queen mused to herself.

“You’re working here? When did you get back?” was all she asked out loud, even though she already knew the answer.

“Yes. Transferred in from Chicago to finish up my residency. I’ll be doing a rotation in the prenatal unit and in a few months, I’ll be doing a rotation in the E.R.,” the younger woman responded and Gemma nodded.

“Just save my grandson,” she snapped. _Don’t want to get too personal with her. Just need her to save the kid_ , she thought. And yes…she could admit that she was scared as hell.

“The doctors will do what they can,” came the clipped response and Tara hurried away. _Shit!_ Gemma thought. Hopefully she hadn’t scared the younger woman off of the case. Abel needed her. Her fear for Abel had spiked, even though she knew that he would be okay. She then sighed and went to the waiting room as she pulled out her phone and called Jax to tell him what was going on. _He’s gonna lose his shit over this_ , she thought to herself as she waited as his phone rang. But there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

“This is Jax. Leave---” Letting out an exclamation of disgust, she hung up. That was useless. She needed to reach him. He needed to know about Wendy. However, it looked like once again, she was going to have to wait. _Hopefully everything will be okay. Hopefully it won’t be too bad this time_ , she thought. Yeah, okay, wishful thinking. But she didn’t wanna go through this again. She just wanted her happily-ever-after. Hopefully, when she encouraged Tara to go after Jax, things would work out in her favor. And she’d show the redheaded guide-bitch that she could and **would** always get what she wanted. Okay, she couldn’t think about that right now. She had to focus on Abel. Abel was the one who was important at the moment. Okay if she couldn’t reach him on the phone, he was probably at the Clubhouse. Making a decision, she went there, arriving just as he and the others did. She quickly walked over to him.

“I tried calling you,” she stated.

“What is it?” he wondered and she quickly told him, and almost immediately, he got back on the bike and headed for St. Thomas, his eyes clouded. Once there, he went straight to the waiting room where they were all met by Tara. _Tara? She’s back?_ Jax wondered. When had **this** happened? No. Not important. He needed to know about Wendy and the baby, that’s it.

“What are you doing here?”

“I work here. I’m doing a rotation in prenatal.”

“What the hell happened?”

“When’s the last time you saw her?”

“Couple of weeks.”

“Her hands and feet are full of tracks. Toxicology reports haven’t come back yet, but it’s most likely crank.” Gemma sighed. _Enough about Wendy already. Just tell us about Abel_ , she thought. No that it mattered as she already knew what was going on with her grandson.

“The baby?” _If I lost him…I don’t know what I’ll do_ , the biker thought. If Wendy’s stupidity had killed his kid, he’d murder her, ex-wife or not. Okay, he needed to calm down. This wasn’t helping anything.

“We had to do an emergency c-section. He’s ten weeks premature.”

“Holy shit.” _Yeah, that sums it up_ , Gemma thought. This was harder to hear the second time around. She then fell silent as Tara went on to explain what was going on with Abel: a tear in his abdomen and a hole in his heart.

“The family flaw.”

“Yes, it is genetic.” The biker queen fell silent again as she stood behind Jax. A part of her wanted to draw him close---put a hand on his shoulder--- **something** , but that wasn’t her way and it would probably just make things worse. Or maybe it wouldn’t. She really wasn’t sure. She just knew that she didn’t want to be here again. And yet, she was. Well, there was nothing else she could do so…yeah, there was that. She listened as Tara talked, smiling in relief when the younger woman told Jax that she had asked to assist. _Good. I didn’t screw things up on that front_ , she thought. This was a good start. As Abel’s caregiver, Tara would be able to give them updates as well as be close to Jax so that they could become an item. But there was Wendy to think about too. _I should give her crank to make her go away. Finish the job_ , she thought. Yeah, that would be good. Then Tara would have Jax all to herself. Oh, no, wait. The first time around, Tara had gotten pissed when she realized that she had supplied Wendy with the drugs. Okay, so that was out. She still needed to talk to the other woman though. Make her see that what she had done wasn’t going to be tolerated. After all, she had squandered her position as the MC Princess, which was what Wendy’s position had been as Jax’s Old Lady. Clay was the King, and Jax was the Prince. And Old Ladies were supposed to lead, not fall down some fucked up drug-fueled rabbit hole. Footsteps broke through her musings and she hurried after Jax, but just like last time, she was unable to deter him. Okay. Wendy, she needed to do something about Wendy. No. Not right now. She needed to think. There was too much going on. She needed to get away before she said or did something stupid and ruined everything before she even got started. With a sigh, she headed out and headed home, where she started to clean. As she did so, her thoughts swirled around. She needed to apologize to Tara, to let Wendy know that if she didn’t get her act together, she’d make sure she got shunned, and she needed to talk to Clay about John. He probably wouldn’t like it, but there it was. Hearing the door, open, she glanced up. And there was Jax.

“Hey, hon. Just decided to do a little cleaning. Can’t have your home looking like a damn pigsty,” she commented.

“I’ll get it later,” he said. However, she kept cleaning and only answered half-heartedly, repeating the same conversation she had had with him the first time around, except this time, she didn’t slap him. He was just scared to lose Abel. She knew that. He had lost Thomas. And he was right: Tellers **did** die rather bloody. “When you and Dad hooked up, did he ever talk about his vision for the Club?” Jax asked presently, causing her to stop. And there it was. He wanted to know about John. The first time around, she had blown him off, given him the standard Biker Queen answer. But he didn’t need that. No, he needed the truth. Maybe if she was truthful---at least about **this** \---he would be more willing to stay in the Club and wouldn’t fight with Clay so much.

“Yes,” she admitted. “Truth is, gunrunning wasn’t his idea. It was Clay’s. But baby, it’s a lucrative business,” she continued.

“Well, yeah I know, but…I saw some old letters of his and…” his voice trailed off as if unsure of how to continue.

“With his idea, things seemed simpler?”

“Yes. Not so…bloody. Not an outlaw.” Gemma nodded. He was right. John hadn’t wanted to go outlaw, but they had a good life with it. Why **should** they give it up? What did **they** gain by doing that? Almost as if she had conjured it up, a picture of Tara greeting her and Clay her filled her head. Right. She was doing this to get the happily-ever-after she and her family deserved. And according to the redheaded guide bitch, that meant walking away from the outlaw life. What they all would do in lieu of it, she had no idea, but she would steer them in that direction. She would make sure that they didn’t lose anyone.

“You’re right. That’s what he had envisioned.”

“So, who changed the club’s direction? Clay?”

“Baby, it’s more complicated than that.”

“You could convince him to change it again.”

“We’ll see.” _That’s the best I can do right now_ , she thought to herself as Jax nodded at the answer. _That was more honest than I expected_ , he mused. His mother’s usual m.o. was to dodge a question and defend the Club, not admit that things weren’t perfect.

“Okay, I’ll see you later. Why don’t you go on home and finish cleaning later?” At the suggestion, she nodded and then went back home, where Clay was waiting in their bed.

“Where were you?”

“Cleaning up at Jax’s.”

“Of course you were.” Gemma smiled at her husband’s matter-of-fact tone. The conversation was familiar. It felt good. Today had been pretty shitty and she needed familiar. Without a word, she went over to him and took his hands and he kissed them. “Today pushed some old buttons for you, huh?” he asked gently. _It must feel like Thomas all over again for her_ , he thought. He couldn’t even imagine watching your kid die. If anything happened to Jax…okay, so he wasn’t biologically his, but still…

“Yeah, it did. And it also got me thinking,” she admitted.

“About what?” he wondered.

“The Club. John’s original vision for it,” she replied.

“You been talking to Jax? Earlier he talked about not rebuilding the factory and using the land for something else,” he commented. _What’s going on here?_ he wondered. Gemma had always loved the life, the thrill…the danger…and she had always pushed him to do bigger and better things.

“It’s something to think about,” she said, sitting down in front of him and making herself comfortable, hoping that her husband couldn’t hear her heart pounding.

“What do you mean?” he queried. _Is it the life she’s tired of…or me?_ he wondered. Yeah, he wasn’t as strong as he used to be, but he **did** have some fight left in him. But maybe she didn’t see it that way. Maybe she was afraid she’d get left alone again, like after John…no! He couldn’t go there! Seeing the confusion and hurt in his eyes, she leaned in and gave him a reassuring kiss on the lips.

“I love you,” she stated. _Here goes nothing_ , she thought. Even though Clay tended to listen to her, she didn’t actually have any power in the club. She was just an Old Lady. The Queen, to be sure, which garnered some respect among the club and the Crow Eaters, but it wasn’t like being a man. “And I love our life..our family. But we have a grandbaby to think about now. Gunrunning is dangerous and I, for one, want to make sure you’re here for a long, long time,” she continued. _The kid. Of course. She doesn’t have a lot of family and she wants to make sure Jax’s kid doesn’t lose anyone_ , he mused. With their combined medical history, it made sense that she was a little nervous about not being around. Not that she usually voiced these concerns, but maybe the scare with the baby had rattled her more than he had thought.

“Baby, I’m not going anywhere. Abel’s gonna have us and a whole shitload of uncles and aunts to look out for him,” he assured.

“Just…promise me that you’ll at least hear Jax out? I mean…I get that we can’t just break things off because that’s not how business is done, but…” As her voice trailed off, she shrugged as if unsure of what to say. _How can I tell him that if we continue the way we are we’ll all die? He’ll think I’m nuts_ , she worried.

“I promise. I’ll hear him out,” he said. She smiled and kissed him.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied. Then, at her look, “What?”

“Do you think we should tell him the truth? About John?”

“That him hitting that semi wasn’t an accident? That he killed himself?”

“Yes.” At this, Clay blew out a breath. Even though it had been several years since that shitty day, he still couldn’t get it out of his head.

“I don’t know. That’s---Jax was devastated enough when he first heard about it. And if he knew that his father killed himself…”

“Yeah, I hear ya. But if he has John’s letters and shit and he’s asking questions…wouldn’t it be more hurtful to lie?” She wasn’t sure about hurtful, but everything had gone to hell with their lies. People had died, trust had been broken…she needed to make sure that it didn’t happen that way again.

“Let’s sleep on it. Today’s been long and shitty. Not a good time to make tough decisions,” Clay determined. Plus, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to relive those memories tonight. John had been his best friend, and to think that he had…damn. Yeah, no. He wasn’t going there.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Gemma agreed and then snuggled into him. Usually, she’d rather tire herself out with sex, but to be honest, tonight…she just wanted to be held…


	4. Charming Town Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Everything familiar belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX Productions. All the new stuff is mine.

The next morning, Gemma’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled as she glanced at Clay who was still sleeping. _Glad he was willing to listen_ , she thought. It was always a bit dicey making suggestions to Clay. After all, he had his pride and the last thing he liked was feeling like he wasn’t enough of a man to take care of the family. Especially since the arthritis diagnosis. _It’s been so hard for him and the last thing I want to do is make things worse_ , she thought. Would trying to get him to slow down and talk to Jax about a new direction for the club make things worse? She didn’t know, but she knew that if she wanted good things for her son, she would at least have to try. Getting everyone on track to go legit would take some doing, she knew this, but she would do it. Her reverie was broken by a small moan and she smiled as she watched him start to stir. Damn he looks good, she thought. Clay let out a moan as he opened his eyes, sits up.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Morning,” she responded, giving him a sensual kiss on the lips, causing him to moan. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good. You?”

“Same.”

“Good.” The man studied his wife, his eyes clouding in concern.

“What is it, baby?”

“What you said about John. It made me think.”

“Yeah?” He nodded.

“At the time, it was easy enough to play it as an accident. Jax was wrecked and he didn’t need that burden as a kid. But he’s a man now, and he deserves the truth.”

“Yeah.”

“But on the other hand, it’s his dad and it’ll still wreck him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Plus the shit with the weapons factory still hasn’t been cleared up and we need to figure it out.” Gemma nodded.

“You’ll figure it out, Baby.” Clay smiled. _Love that she has so much faith in me_ , he thought to himself. How had he gotten so lucky? He was a piece of shit and didn’t deserve such a great woman. Seeing the expression on her husband’s face, she gave him a disapproving look and smacked him in the shoulder.

“Ow! What?”

“I know that look and you’re wrong. You deserve every good thing you’ve gotten.” At this, Clay sighed and shook his head.

“How do you always know?” _She’s a damn clairvoyant_ , he thought to himself.

“You’re easy to read.” He smiled at her.

“So, what’s on your agenda today?” he wondered.

“Gonna stop by St. Thomas’ and check on Abel,” she replied. _And make nice with Tara so that she’ll want to stay in Charming years from now_ , she thought to herself. That had to be why she had wanted to get out of town in the past: because she had pushed her away. But she was going to make sure that didn’t happen this time around. No…she’d keep her close. If she kept her close and happy, she wouldn’t want to leave Charming and she wouldn’t have to argue with her, which meant that she would get what she wanted. Clay nodded.

“Okay. I got some shit to discuss with the Club but I’ll be by later,” he replied.

“Sounds good,” she said and then leaned forward, giving him another kiss. Then, she got up, quickly got dressed, and headed out. _This is going to be weird_ , she thought to herself. She wasn’t used to having to play nice with others. No, she usually used her status as the Sons’ Queen to get her way and bend others to her will, especially if they were part of the life. After all, she was one of the ones in charge and they needed to respect her. But apparently, this wasn’t going to work with Tara and she needed to change her strategy. And she could do that. She’d do anything for Jax and the boys. Giving herself a mental shake, she got into her car, started it, and headed to St. Thomas. _Worried_ , she thought to herself. Her phone ringing broke through her reverie and she picked it up.

“Hey,” she greeted.

“Hey, Gem,” a voice responded and Gemma smiled. Luanne. _Oh I’ve missed her_ , she thought to herself. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to anyone else, but she had been lost after Georgie Caruso had murdered her. But now she was alive. Maybe going back in time wouldn’t be as bad as she thought. After all, she had her best friend back and if she knew what was coming, she would be able to keep her out of danger. _We’re not going to lose anyone this time around, I’ll see to it_ , she determined. She wasn’t going to bully anyone. No, playing nice was the key to making sure that they all got their happily-ever-after.

“How are you Luanne?” she queried.

“I’m good,” came the response.

“You going to see Abel?”

“Yeah.”

“Want some company?”

“I’d love that.” Gemma smiled and continued on to St. Thomas. Once there, her eyes flickered with concern when she saw Tara, who seemed to be waiting for them. “What is it?” she queried in concern.

“The surgery on Abel’s stomach went really well and Dr. Namid says he wants to go ahead and do the surgery on Abel’s heart,” the other woman replied. _She’s nervous about something_ , Gemma realized. She hadn’t seen it the first time but she could see it now. What was wrong? Was Abel’s condition worse than she was saying? But if so, why would she hide that from them? That didn’t make any sense.

“Well that’s good, right? That they’re going ahead with the surgery. It means he’s stronger,” Luanne stated. _Something’s up, but what?_ she wondered. Not that she expected Tara to tell her anything, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling she got that something wasn’t being said. Was it a doctor thing or something else? Maybe Tara didn’t like being around the Club. Not that she could really blame her as Gemma was prickly at best, even with **her** , and they were best friends.

“Yes, this is the best option,” Tara replied. _No need to worry either of them with how bad things really are_ , she thought to herself. Even though she and Gemma didn’t get along, she wouldn’t want her to worry about Abel. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get ready,” she stated and headed out. Quickly, Gemma hurried after her.

“Wait,” she called. The younger girl sighed and turned around.

“If you have a problem with me assisting with Abel’s case---” she began to say.

“No I’m sure you’re perfectly capable,” she interrupted.

“Then what do you want? Not trying to be rude, but…” Tara’s words trailed off as if she wasn’t sure how to finish. “First of all, how’s Wendy?” the older woman asked. Not that she really cared but, she was curious to know if things had ended up the same for her as well.

“Not well. She’s detoxing and can’t stop crying. Maybe if you went to her and assured her that she wasn’t alone---” Tara started to say.

“Way I’m feeling right now, if I saw her, I’d try to kill her. I don’t think it’d be a good idea for me to visit that crank whore,” Gemma interrupted harshly and the woman nodded.

“Fair enough,” she allowed. _Forgot how forthright she could be_ , she thought to herself. “And second?”

“I’m sorry. For pushing you away all those years ago,” Gemma told her, and then watched as the younger woman’s eyes widened. _She’s apologizing? Gemma Morrow is apologizing to me?_ she mused. What was going on here? Was she not feeling well? Or maybe the situation with Abel had made her reconsider things. No, that wasn’t possible. Gemma wouldn’t change like that.

“Look that was ten years ago and frankly, it’s ancient history. Thanks for the apology though,” she said. “We’ve both changed.” Finished, Tara continued on her way. Gemma quickly lifted up the scrubs and smirked when she saw the crow tattoo.

“Looks like you haven’t changed that much,” she commented knowingly. _She’s still in love with him_ , she realized. That was good to know. She could use this. Instead of pushing her away, she should encourage her to go back to Jax. But how could she do it without making her suspicious?

“I keep that as a reminder that all that shit is behind me,” came the biting response. “Look, I don’t want to fight. I’m needed in surgery.”

“I don’t want to fight either. And again, for the record, regarding my actions back then…I’m sorry.” Tara looked at Gemma, searching her face. Another apology? What was going on? Was this one of her tricks? Act nice and then cut her down with some warning to stay away from Jax? The doctor honestly wouldn’t put it past the older woman, but surprisingly, her face didn’t exhibit any of the malice she had expected from her. In fact, she actually looked… **genuinely** sorry.

“You…really mean that, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s okay. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really do need to get going.”

“Yes, of course.” Gemma’s eyes clouded as she watched Tara walk away. _Wonder what’s going on_ , she mused. Oh well, she would figure it out later. With a sigh, she called Jax.

“Ma, now’s not a good time,” she heard him say.

“Abel’s going in for the heart surgery. Just thought you’d want to know,” she told him and then heard his sharp intake of breath. “Tara’s assisting so he’s probably in good hands,” she quickly assured him.

“You’re praising Tara? I thought you hated her,” Jax commented. _It’s why she chased her out of my life_ , he thought to himself. Wait. That wasn’t fair. Tara had gotten one hell of an opportunity---he knew this. Had it hurt like hell when she had left? Absolutely. But she was back now. And helping him deal with everything.

“The scare with Abel’s got me thinking,” she admitted.

“Yeah me too,” he agreed. _Mostly about the direction this Club is going_ , he mused. But he wasn’t sure he could admit that to his mother. After all, she ate, slept, and breathed the Club and probably wouldn’t like the idea of him changing things up. “I uh…gotta go.”

“Yeah, sure,” she said and then hung up as she went back into the waiting room to sit with Luanne. Almost as soon as she sat down, she saw Opie and Donna rush into the room, Ellie in Opie’s arms, while Donna was carrying eight-year old Kenny Winston.

“I need some help here!” Opie exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” Luanne asked in concern as a doctor ran up after hearing the cry.

“Tell me what’s going on,” the doctor requested calmly. _Can’t blame him for being frantic, but him panicking’s not going to help anything_ , he thought to himself.

“She’s been dealing with stomach bug for a few days and we thought she was getting better but then she started having trouble breathing and it’s just gotten worse,” Opie reported.

“Okay, come with me. I’ll take a look at her,” the doctor assured and the family followed him to a room.

“Damn. Poor Donna and Opie,” Luanne commented.

“Yeah,” Gemma agreed. _That was new_ , she thought to herself. That hadn’t happened the last time. What was going on? Why had things changed? Was that a sign that Opie was supposed to be with the Club? Back at the Clubhouse, the members sat at the table.

“Okay, the weapons storage. Do we rebuild or no?” Clay queried. _Oh boy_ , Jax thought to himself. This had the potential to go bad. What if everyone voted against him? “Tig?”

“Yes.”

“Chibs?”

“Nay.”

“Juice?”

“Yes.”

“Bobby?”

“No.”

“Piney?”

“No.” Jax’s eyes flickered as everyone gave their answers.

“Jax?”

“No.” Clay nodded.

“We have our answer: we don’t rebuild,” he declared, pounding the gavel.

“We’re still going to retaliate, right?” Tig checked.

“Hell yeah!” everyone replied. Sure rebuilding wasn’t something everyone was interested in, but that didn’t mean that they’d let the Mayans’ actions go unchecked.

“Get Opie. He’s the best with explosives,” Clay responded.

“He’s leaning right these days,” Jax interjected.

“He’ll lean anyway I tell him,” Clay commented.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Jax said.

“When you become King, you can give leniency to whoever the hell you want. Right now, you just get Opie and get him on board for tonight after you and I need to go visit Laroy,” Clay responded. “

Hey Clay, I’m good with explosives too. We don’t need Ope and this way we don’t have to wait on him,” Tig stated.

“You sure?” Clay asked.

“Yeah,” Tig assured. Sure it’d be a little dicey without him, but at least this way, they weren’t putting things off.

“Do it,” Clay ordered. With that, Jax followed his stepfather to their bikes and headed out as the older man called their contact and got a meeting set up. When they finally hit Oakland, they went to their arranged spot.

“Long way from Charming,” Laroy Wayne noted. “What’s so important that you would come all the way out here?” he wondered.

“Our weapons’ storage got hit by the Mayans and we lost everything including your M4s,” Clay reported.

“WHAT?” Laroy snapped. _Are they fucking serious?_ he fumed. He **needed** those weapons.

“You need them cause you have your own shipment to pay for, we get it,” Jax interrupted. “We just need a little more time to make this right,” he continued.

“I can give you a day,” came the response.

“Thank you,” Clay said.

“Yeah. You just make sure you get those guns or you’re gonna have trouble,” Laroy threatened and then walked away before they could answer.

“At least the trouble won’t be in River City,” Jax quipped.

“Come on. Let’s go see what the status is with your kid,” Clay said, rolling his eyes. With that, they headed out. While this was going on, the rest of the club was hitting one of the Mayans warehouses, and when they were done, they quickly fled, whooping as the cars sped away. _Yeah! This is the life!_ Juice thought to himself. This was one of the things he loved most about being in the Club: the rush. The Club was everything to him and without it, he had no idea what he would do. Hopefully, he would never have to find out. At the hospital, Opie paced nervously as the doctor examined Ellie.

“Babe,” Donna said, reaching out to touch his wrist.

“She’s going to be okay,” the doctor finally announced.

“What happened?” the ex-biker wondered. Something had knocked his little girl on her ass and he wanted to fix it. He **had** to fix it. But he couldn’t do that if he didn’t know what it was.

“She has a pretty severe case of pneumonia,” the doctor replied.

“How did I miss this?” Opie wondered.

“You said she had been dealing with a stomach bug?” the doctor checked.

“Yes,” Donna and Opie chorused.

“My guess is that her body was so busy fighting the bug that it was unable to fight off the pneumonia,” the doctor explained. “I’d like to keep her here for a few days just to check her vitals,” the man told them.

“Of course,” the couple agreed. _We can’t afford this. We’re barely making things meet as it is!_ Donna’s mind screamed. How were they going to pay for this? As if sensing what she was worried about, Opie pulled her close.

“We’ll figure it out, baby,” he murmured. “I can work extra shifts.” Or the Club could help out. And they **would**. But Donna wasn’t a big fan of the Club so maybe she wouldn’t want them to be involved.

“I’m gonna get us some food. You want anything?” Donna asked.

“No I’m good,” he replied. She nodded and then walked out into the hall, going to the vending machine that sold sandwiches, staring at the choices. Hearing footsteps, her body tensed when she saw Gemma and Luanne. _Great. Just what I need_ , she thought to herself. Luanne wasn’t so bad despite her lifestyle, but Gemma always acted like she was above people and expected them to bow and scrape to her like she was some sort of damn queen.

“Hey. What’d the doc say about your little girl?” Luanne queried.

“It’s pneumonia. Apparently her body was so busy fighting a stomach bug that it didn’t have any energy left to fight off the pneumonia,” Donna replied.

“Shit. That’s rough,” Gemma sympathized.

“Yeah,” Donna said. “They’re keeping her here for a few days to monitor her,” she continued, unable to keep from biting her lip, an action that she only did when she was nervous.

“Hey, uh…I know we haven’t always gotten alone---I can be a bitch, I know this---but if you need anything…the Club’s here,” Gemma told her and Donna’s jaw dropped. Was Gemma actually…being **nice** to her? Why?

“Uh…thank you. I’ll let you know,” Donna replied as Luanne got something out of the vending machine. It opened and she bent down and then handed it Donna. 

“You like turkey, right?”

“Yes. Thank you.” _Wow. What’s going on here?_ she wondered. It wasn’t like them to be so nice.

“Has Opie or Kenny eaten?”

“No. Uh…they like ham.” Gemma nodded and then got the selection for the two, also adding in some treats. Donna was speechless as the porn star placed the food in her hands. “Thank---thank you,” she stammered.

“Of course,” Luanne responded.

“We’re here for you guys,” Gemma told her.

“Thank you,” Donna said again. “I---I should get back.”

“Of course.” Silently, the woman went back to her daughter’s room.

“What’s all this?” Opie questioned as he took some of the food offered to him and gave it to Kenny.

“Gemma and Luanne bought us for food. I---I don’t understand. Gemma’s usually---I mean---”

“She can be a handful, yeah,” Opie chuckled.

“Yeah.”

“It’s the way of the Club. They take care of you.”

“They didn’t take care of you. They let you rot in prison.”

“I asked them not to make things worse. Sometimes when a member tries to appeal the judge, it makes them a little…harsh. I figured five years was hard enough and---” She nodded in understanding. _I didn’t know that_ , she mused.

“Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be.” She smiled at him and then they turned to watch their daughter who had fallen asleep. Hours later, Jax and Clay returned to Charming and headed for St. Thomas, going to Luanne and Gemma just as Dr. Namid came out.

“Doc, how is he?” Gemma asked as Clay and Jax turned to face the other man.

“Surgery went well and he’s resting,” the man answered.

“Oh thank God,” Luanne sighed.

“I would like to keep him here a while so we can keep an eye on him, monitor him for any complications,” he continued.

“Yes, of course,” Gemma agreed. “Does Wendy know yet?”

“No.”

“I’ll go tell her.” Before the doctor could say anything more, the biker queen left the waiting room and went into her ex-daughter-in-law’s room.

“Gemma, what are you doing here?” she wondered.

“Kid might actually see his first birthday.”

“Abel? He’s okay? Oh, thank God!” _I can’t believe I was stupid enough to take the crank! What was I thinking? I could’ve killed him!_ she thought to herself as she began crying once again.

“Yes, thank God that his murderous junkie mother didn’t kill him for a forty-dollar rush,” Gemma shot back. Really? She thought she deserved sympathy? Oh hell no!

“As soon as they release me, I’m going back to Promises,” the younger girl stated. _It’s going to stick this time. I have Abel_ , she thought to herself.

“Oh, sure, let’s just throw more money at them. How long will it last this time? Six months? Three? A few weeks?”

“It’s different this time! I have Abel now!” Gemma let out a scoffing laugh. _Holy shit! She still thinks I’ll let her be around my grandson after this?_ she thought to herself. Maybe it was a good thing that she hadn’t gotten that syringe after all.

“You really think Jax will let you anywhere near him after what you did?” she sneered, approaching her.

“I’m his mother! I know I’ve made mistakes but I’m not going to abandon him!” came the response. For an answer, Gemma grabbed Wendy’s throat.

“You gave up the right to call yourself Abel’s mother when you pumped yourself full of that shit. If you try to get custody, I will see to it that you’re on the first bus out of Charming. He will **never** call you ‘Mommy’,” she threatened as Wendy gagged, her eyes widening in fright. _Holy shit! She’s going to kill me!_ the younger woman thought to herself. How could she do that though? She was Abel’s mother and Jax cared about her. “I gave you another chance to be in Jax’s life because of the pregnancy and you blew it. Now, here’s what’s gonna happen: as soon as the docs clear you, you’re going to tell Jax you’re sorry and then go do…whatever the hell a crank whore like you does, whether it’s getting another hit or taking another stab at rehab, I don’t care. You will not continue dragging my son into your shit.” Gemma released her hold on Wendy’s throat and she gave out rasping coughs as she tried to catch her breath. Without another word, Gemma threw the Bible on Wendy’s lap and then walked out. With some trepidation, Wendy picked up the Bible and flipped through the pages. Had she left her a syringe, indicating that she was supposed to kill herself? However, there was nothing slipped into the book. With a gasping sigh of relief, the woman held the book close to her chest and then began to cry. Gemma walked into the NICU and smiled reassuringly at Jax as she, her son, and her husband stared down at the newest addition to the Teller-Morrow family.


	5. Advice Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS Dstudent: Thank you, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Well, read on and see. 80s904ever: Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Apologies for the long wait. It took me a while to finish the chapters. Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX Productions. I only own the new stuff. And I just realized I forgot to add in Half-Sack in the last “ep”. Sorry about that. He **will** be an integral part of the storyline though. And some chapters/”episodes” may be shorter than others, depending on what I have planned for it.

Charming was quiet when the station wagon cruised into town. _I actually made pretty good time_ , the man thought to himself. He had expected to get here much later, but he had actually gotten here at dawn, which was nice. Now he just had to get himself situated with his house and his job. With a sigh, he drove to his house, parking in the driveway before shutting off the engine, grabbing his things, and walking into the house. He then started unpacking. _Back in Charming. The one place I never thought I’d be_ , he thought. But he had been called here by Charming PD, which was odd given the fact that everyone knew that Unser was in SAMCRO’s pocket. So why would he call him when he knew that he couldn’t be bought? Well, he supposed he would find out later when he reported for duty. _This will be interesting_ , he thought to himself. With a sigh, he continued what he was doing.  At his house, Wayne Unser was lying in bed, next to his wife, Janice, his eyes clouded. _Cancer. Can’t believe I have cancer_ , he thought to himself. And it was in his bladder, which was fucking embarrassing. But he knew that the treatments would get really bad, which was why he had vowed to do all he could for Charming before stepping down. Stepping down. That would be **really** weird. He had been the Chief here for so long, that he wasn’t really sure what he would do with himself when he could no longer do his job. He sighed and turned over, causing his wife to do the same so that she was looking at him.

“How you doin’, babe?” she wondered.

“Oh just peachy. It’s great being in excruciating pain when you take a leak,” he replied sarcastically. Then, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to take it out on you. Still processing.”

“It’s okay.” _I can’t even imagine how he’s feeling right now_ , Janice thought to herself. It wasn’t everyday a person found out that they had bladder cancer---or any type of cancer for that matter---and she couldn’t even imagine what he was going through.

“Just…I have no idea how we’re going to afford the treatments,” he stated. Sure the Club would help out but he didn’t want to have to rely on them. Yes, he helped them out occasionally and looked the other way on a **lot** of the shit they did, but this was his own business and nobody else’s.

“It’ll all work out. It always does,” Janice counseled. _Maybe this was the wakeup call he needed to get away from the Sons Of Anarchy club_ , she mused to herself. Okay, yeah, that was probably wishful thinking, but it **had** crossed her mind. But it wasn’t like she could say that out loud. No, if she did, he’d be pissed at her. And they didn’t need any more problems. The important thing was to be there for Wayne.

“What would I do without you?” he asked with a soft smile.

“You’ll never have to find out,” she responded before giving him a kiss. He moaned and deepened the kiss, resulting in a moan from his wife. “Babe…as much as I love this, don’t you have work?” she asked.

“I can be a little late,” he assured her.

“But you said you had someone meeting you today. A new deputy,” she reminded.

“Shit. You’re right,” he stated. He had completely forgotten that he had asked the board to send him a deputy to help out while he got treatment. With a reluctant sigh, he went to get dressed. “I can stay if you want,” he offered.

“No. I know you would go stir crazy if you stayed home,” she disagreed and he chuckled.

“True.” Then, “If Darby and his guys give you trouble---”

“I’ll show them just how wrong that their misconception that a black woman is inferior to them really is.”

“I’d almost pay to see that. They could use a good beat down.”

“Wayne! You can’t talk like that! You’re a cop!” The man grinned at the scolding, hearing the laughter in her voice.

“Hey truth is the truth.” Janice sighed and shook her head.

“Seriously, what am I going to do with you?” For an answer, he just grinned. _Love her so much_ , he thought to himself. Hopefully, the chemo would work and he could stick around for a **long** time. He didn’t want to leave her. At the Winston house, Donna and Opie were getting dressed while Donna was putting some things in Ellie’s backpack.

“So I’ll take Kenny to school and then meet you at the hospital to visit Ellie?” Donna asked as she put in a few of Ellie’s favorite stuffed animals.

“Sounds good,” Opie replied. _Hate seeing her like that. Wish I could make it better_ , he thought to himself. But at least the doctors were taking good care of her. It didn’t change the fact that he felt helpless though. Ellie was his little girl and he **hated** not being able to make her better. _Is this how Jax feels about Abel’s situation?_ he wondered. Granted, they were both different situations, but they both entailed illnesses that neither he or Jax were able to do anything about. And it was driving him crazy. Donna kissed Opie, smiling at him. _So proud of what he’s doing_ , she thought to herself. He had been sticking to his job at the mill, not hanging around the Club as much…which was nice. But on the other hand, Gemma and Luanne had been pretty nice to her since the diagnosis. _I don’t want to ruin his friendships, but I also don’t want to lose him again_ , she thought to herself. She had nearly lost it when he had gone to prison and she didn’t want to risk that again. Okay, she was getting ahead of herself. The kids. She had to focus on the kids. She turned her attention on Kenny.

“You ready to go?” she asked.

“Yeah,” the boy answered. She grinned and led him to the car as her husband also headed out. Opie headed to the hospital, made his way to Ellie’s room, and then walked in, smiling when he heard her breathing. _She sounds a little better_ , he thought to himself. It wasn’t a lot which meant they probably had a long way to go, but at least it was **something**. One of the nurses walked in and smiled, seeing him.

“Hey, Mr. Winston,” she greeted.

“Hey,” he responded. “She sounds slightly better,” he continued.

“She **does** ,” the nurse agreed. “But she’s not out of the woods just yet,” she cautioned, causing Opie to nod. He had expected as much. He was just glad that they were able to treat her. The nurse started to say something more when Donna walked in.

“Hey baby,” he greeted.

“She seems to be breathing better,” the woman noted hopefully. _She’s strong. She’s a fighter…like her father_ , she mused. Ellie was going to be okay, she just knew it. She just hated seeing her so sick…especially since she couldn’t do anything to help her at the moment. She then sat in a chair next to the bed as Opie did the same. Hearing the squeak, Ellie moaned as her eyes fluttered open.

“Sorry, Baby. Didn’t mean to wake you,” Opie apologized.

“Daddy? Mommy? Where am I?” she wondered.

“St. Thomas, baby. You have pneumonia and the doctors have been monitoring you to make sure they can properly help you get better,” Donna replied. Ellie nodded.

“How long do I have to stay?” she wondered.

“We’re not sure,” her father replied.

“Okay,” she responded. _Hate this. I want to go home_ , she moped. She didn’t like this place. It smelled funny and it was noisy. She wanted her bed with her stuffed animals. Why couldn’t she be with them?

“I know. It’s not really fun being in bed all day,” Opie commented, seeing the expression on her face.

“I want my own bed and my stuffed animals,” Ellie complained.

“Your dad and I thought as much, so we brought you something,” Donna stated as she placed a backpack on her daughter’s bed. Hearing this, Ellie sat up and opened the backpack, her face lighting up as she saw some of her stuffed animals.

“Thank you, Mommy,” she said happily.

“You’re welcome, Sweetie,” came the response. Opie watched as his daughter pulled out the things that his wife had packed, smiling. _She thinks of everything and I hardly know these kids_ , he thought to himself. He was going to change that. He was going to take a better interest in their lives and hopefully, they would let him get to know them better. _Missed five years of their lives and I don’t want to miss any more_ , he mused. As if sensing what he was thinking, Donna reached out to take his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. _So glad he’s here. Don’t know if I’d be able to face this by myself_ , she mused. While this was going, Jax and Gemma had walked into St. Thomas.

“Ma, thanks for being here. I’m not sure if---” Jax’s voice trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

“It’s hard. I know,” the woman stated. _I remember being here for Thomas when he was sick. John couldn’t stand seeing our son like that. It destroyed him_ , she mused. Not that she blamed him for falling apart. She had on occasion too. And she didn’t want that for Jax. That was why she was so adamant that he be here.

“Yeah. I just---I don’t know how to be a father. I mean---I didn’t even know that Wendy was shooting up again, which means I’ve already failed Abel.” Gemma turned to him.

“No, baby. You haven’t failed. If you had given up on him, **then** you would’ve failed. But you’re still here. And he needs you now more than ever.” Jax nodded and together, they went in to get changed into the masks and gowns that they would need to visit Abel. _Hate this. Hate that I have to be so careful_ , Jax thought to himself. Abel was his son and all he wanted to do was wrap the boy in his arms and promise him that everything would be okay, but he couldn’t because he was too sick. Not that he couldn’t hold him, in fact, the doctors and nurses were **encouraging** it, but he just didn’t know if Abel **would** be okay, even if his mother **was** being strangely optimistic. Not that he was complaining. He was glad that his mother was taking an interest in this as well as getting along with Tara for some reason. Tara. That was another thing that was bugging him: something was going on with her but he couldn’t put his finger on it. _Wish she’d trust me_ , he thought to himself. But he wasn’t surprised that she didn’t. He had always been all about the Club and even though she loved him, she had had some issues with them, especially before she left so she was probably just a bit leery about everything. But he missed her…so damn much. She had been everything to him, still was. _Still in love with her_ , he mused to himself. Sure they hadn’t seen each other in ten years but that didn’t matter. For him, it would **always** be her. Too bad fate always seemed to be conspiring against them. But she was back now, which had to count for something, right? Tara checked on one of her other patients and then headed for Abel’s room. Abel. He was the kid she was the most nervous for. So many things to fight against. But that was the key word, wasn’t it? Fight. And Abel **was** a fighter. Hell, it was in his blood as a Teller. And that was another thing: Jax. He was the only boy she had ever truly loved, which was why leaving had been hard for her. Truthfully, she had been expecting Gemma to hate her and try to push her out of Jax’s life but instead she was being nice. It just didn’t make sense. Not that she was going to complain, mind you. She was **glad** that the woman was accepting her help, even if it was just for the sake of Abel. She would take any civility she could from the woman. Wow. That probably made her sound **really** pathetic. Didn’t matter though. At least with Gemma, she knew where she stood. She’d be allowed to help with Abel but Gemma wouldn’t want her anywhere near Jax. Not that it was any of her business, and she wasn’t looking for a relationship. No, she had come here to work. And to hide. Well, not hide really. But yes, she had run. And she wasn’t going to bring anyone else into her mess. Not like anyone care anyways. Okay, she had to focus. Abel needed her. She couldn’t be getting distracted like this. Okay, Abel. His vitals were looking good so far, which was encouraging. And hopefully, the boy would continue getting stronger. _I really want him to get well_ , she thought to herself. And yes, she had gotten attached, even though she wasn’t supposed to. But how could she **not**? Abel was adorable and strong enough to fight, she was sure of it. While this was going on, Kip Epps, more commonly known as Half-Sack, was working on Tig’s bike, his eyes flickering. _Don’t want to screw this up_ , he thought to himself. They had **finally** stopped razzing him about the mistake about the deer head and the fact that he was being trusted with this spoke volumes. Hearing footsteps, he looked up to see Chibs.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“You’re doing good, Prospect,” Chibs told him.

“Thanks,’ he replied. _Not really doing much, but grateful to be noticed_ , he thought to himself. “Keep it up,” the Scottish man stated.

“Will do.” Half-Sack continued what he was doing, unable to keep the smile off of his face. This Club really **was** a family. He had been lost when he had returned from serving and he hadn’t been sure where to go. “Listen, I know I never properly thanked you for giving me a place---” Chibs shook his head and waved away the gratitude.

“Don’t even think ‘bout it, boyo. No thanks is needed. Like I told ya when ye found out your parents didn’t want you back, you have a family with us,” he responded, unable to keep his brogue from thickening a bit. _Cannae believe that they disowned him fer volunteerin’ to serve_ , he thought as his eyes darkened. They should’ve been proud of him and yet they had rejected him. Who did that? Well, no matter. Kip was with them now and they’d show him what family **really** was. Chibs then clapped the younger boy on the shoulder and then went inside.

“How’s the Prospect?” Tig wondered.

“Doin’ good. He’s got yer bike shinin’,” Chibs replied.

“Good,” Tig approved.

“And why is the Prospect cleaning your bike when you usually growl at anyone who even looks at it?” Bobby wondered.

“To show that the razzing we gave him about the deer was all in good fun and that he really **does** belong here,” Tig replied.

“Fair enough,” Bobby stated. _Wonder why he won’t let others see the softer side of him. He was more willing to do it when John was alive_ , he thought. But then again, the man’s death had rocked a lot of people, especially Clay and Gemma, though they didn’t talk about it these days. But that was neither here or there. Things would work out, he was sure of it. While this was going on, a man parked his car at the police station and walked in, knocking on Unser’s door.

“Come in!” he called and the man walked in, closing the door behind him. “You,” Unser said in surprise.


	6. Advice Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX Productions. I only own the new stuff.

“Chief Unser,” David Hale responded. _Well, this should be interesting_ , he mused. If he gave him crap though, he was gonna throw it right back, his boss or not. He wasn’t like the other people in this town who were afraid of SAMCRO or idolized them. No, he knew **exactly** who they were: cheap thugs who needed to be taken down a few pegs. And he was going to do it. It was about time someone took the town back and if Unser wouldn’t, **he** would.

“You’re the one they called out?” Unser questioned. _David Hale? Really?_ he wondered. Not that there was anything wrong with the guy, he was a good cop, but from what he remembered he was **extremely** by the book and SAMCRO would have a lot of problems with him. And honestly, he just didn’t need that headache. He wanted to retire and to get treatment without having to worry if Clay and the Club were going to kill someone. But of course, his luck was shitty and he would end up with Hale.

“Yes,” he responded. _I know he doesn’t trust me because he’s in SAMCRO’s pocket, but I don’t care. He’s not going to stop me from doing my job no matter what_ , he determined. He was going to bring real peace to Charming, not the fake peace people had been living with by letting SAMCRO run roughshod over the whole town. No, his peace would be in the best interest of Charming. He just had to get the Sons out of town, he knew this.

“Okay then,” Unser stated. _I’ll play nice. The last thing I need is him getting too close to things_ , he thought to himself. And he’d also have to call the Club to tell them who his new deputy was. And he had a feeling that they weren’t going to like it one bit.

“Look, I know I’m probably not who you were hoping for. You were hoping for someone who would keep up the status quo, but I’m sorry, that’s not who I am. I’m going to do what’s best for Charming,” the younger man stated. “And if that means getting rid of SAMCRO, then so be it.”

“Well first, you’re going to park the attitude, Hale. It’ll get you killed,” Unser advised. “Second, I’m willing to work with you if you’re willing to work with me,” he continued.

“I’m willing,” David agreed. _Won’t follow your lead with SAMCRO, but I know how to respect chain of command_ , he thought to himself. If he was going to clean the town up, he would have to play nice anyway so that Unser wouldn’t suspect anything. At this, Unser nodded.

“Good,” he said. _He’s up to something but I don’t have the energy to pursue it_ , he thought to himself. He didn’t want to get into a pissing contest with the guy, he just wanted to live his life. And that wouldn’t be easy with the chemo. Not that he was sure he wanted to take it. The doctors had told him and Janice about the side effects and he wasn’t sure he wanted to go through with it. But then, where would that leave his wife? He loved her more than life itself and he didn’t want to leave her.

“So, why’d you call in for help anyway?” he wondered. “It’s not like you’ve been itching for a deputy over the years,” he reminded. Hell, in the past, he had actually **chased** deputies away just so that he could keep the status quo with the Sons. So why was he now all of a sudden asking for someone to be sent to him?

“Close the door, would ya?” the man requested and the younger man did so, a look of confusion on his face. “I don’t want this getting out just yet---hell, I’m still coming to terms with it myself---but I was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer.”

“Damn. Chief….” Hale’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t sure what to say to this. _Dying. He’s dying?_ he thought to himself. How could Unser be dying? That just didn’t make any sense. He had always been larger than life. And now he was dying? No. That couldn’t be right. _Wayne Unser dying_ , David thought. Yeah, no. He couldn’t wrap his head around this. And yet, given his relationship with the local MC, why else would he call him here? Well, no matter. He would do his job to the best of his abilities and if that meant taking down Unser, so be it. Granted, he didn’t want it to come down to that, but he wouldn’t back off if it did. Charming had been trapped for too long and he wasn’t going to let that kind of crap stand for much longer. No, he’d see to it that the MC was fought back and Charming was made safe again. That was all he wanted: the town to be safe for regular folks without having to worry about bikers or other gang members running roughshod over them. And now he had that chance. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. By being called out here now, he would be able to get to know the residents again before the chief had to step down and people would learn that they could trust him to look out for their best interests.

“Look, I don’t want you shitting yourself and trying to make a big deal out of this. Janice and I are already talking about the next step. But the county wanted me to have a deputy in place in the event the time came where I had to step down,” Chief Unser told him.

“Understandable,” David replied. _Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna start looking out for him_ , he thought to himself. Okay, yes, he would take the guy down if he found proof he could use as evidence that he was dirty, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t care about him as a person. While this was going on, at St Thomas, Tara and Dr. Nabid were working on Abel.

“So I’ve noticed that you appear to know the Teller family quite well,” he commented.

“Knew them in high school, but we haven’t stayed in touch,” she responded.

“Do I need to worry about your safety?” he checked. _I’ve seen the tension between them and I don’t want her getting hurt_ , he mused to himself. But if they **did** try to hurt her, he was ready to get between them. He cared about his colleagues and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them.

“No,” she assured. Not that she would admit it to him if she **did** feel frightened of them. No, she’d work through it and deal with it herself.

“Okay,” he accepted and refocused his attention on the task at hand, as did Tara. _Come on, Abel. Keep fighting, buddy_ , she thought to herself. The kid was a Teller and was going to be fine, she just knew it. How fine though, she wasn’t sure. However, she knew that if it was **really** bad, Gemma would get pissed at her. Gemma. The woman had confused the hell out of her. She had expected hostility from the biker queen---even mentally prepared herself for it---and yet she hadn’t received it, and had even gotten an apology from her. What was up with that? It wasn’t like the woman, so what had changed? Why was she being so nice? It didn’t make sense. Not that she was going to look the gift-horse in the mouth, but it still made her curious. Maybe it had to do with Abel’s situation? Had it rattled the biker queen more than she wanted to let on? _It’s possible_ , she mused. Okay, just focus on Abel and getting him through the surgery. That was the important thing, not Gemma’s strange actions. In the hall, Jax sat in one of the chairs, his leg bouncing nervously. _Don’t like this. Abel’s just a baby. He shouldn’t be going through surgery_ , he thought to himself. And he wouldn’t even be needing it if Wendy hadn’t been so fucking weak. _Fucking junkie_ , he thought to himself. As if knowing what he was thinking, Gemma reached over and placed a hand on his knee.

“It’ll be okay,” she assured him. _Hate that I have to see him going through this again_ , she fumed. It had been hard enough the first time around.

“How can you be so sure? I mean, you heard what Tara and the other doctor said. Abel might not come out of this the way we want,” he stated.

“Because I know Tara will do everything in her power to give us a good outcome,” came the response.

“Since when are you a fan of Tara?” he queried, his brows furrowing in confused suspicion.

“I mean, not that I don’t agree with you, but…I mean…you wanted her gone when we were kids.”

“And that was wrong of me. I’m sorry, Baby.” _Not really but I’ll play nice to make sure that they end up together and we stay alive_ , she mused to herself. She’d have to be careful though. The last thing she wanted was to make Jax or Tara suspicious of her and risk them deciding not to get back together. _Hate that I have to make nice with the little tart, but I guess she’s better than the gash junkie_ , she thought. Tara had always wanted to take Jax away from Charming---and **her** \---so of course she had resisted that. Except now she had been told that if she didn’t want Jax to end up killing himself, she would have to make it so that Tara wouldn’t want to leave Charming, and that meant making nice with the uptight little bitch. Well, fine. She could do that. Jax smiled at his mother. _Not sure I believe her, but maybe she’s willing to give Tara a second chance?_ he thought, trying not to show how much his heart leaped at that thought. Despite everything, he was still in love with her, and it was taking everything in him not to claim her as he wanted to. But of course, this wasn’t the time or place. He had Abel to worry about. Abel. Shit. He---he just had to make it. How could Wendy have done something so stupid? Why couldn’t she have just been strong for once? Ugh, he was pissed and worried, never a good combo with him. _Don’t want him to die_ , he thought to himself. Yes, he could readily admit---to himself at least---that he was worried about Abel not making it. After all, he was so little, and he had so much stacked against him…how could he possibly survive? But Tara seemed to be optimistic, so he could hold onto that…right? Yeah, that sounded good. He still needed to figure out what he was going to do about Wendy though. Wendy. That was a whole bag load of shit. _Not in love with her, but she had my baby_ , he thought to himself. And he wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. Would Abel really make it? Could the kid have a good life? And what constituted a good life for him? Growing up inside the Club? According to the letters from his biological father, that answer was no, but then again, the Club was all he knew. How else would he raise Abel? After all, it wasn’t like he’d be able to convince Clay to give up gunrunning. Or could he? Almost as if she could sense what he was thinking, Gemma glanced at her son.

“What are you thinking, baby?” she wondered.

“Abel. The Club,” he responded and she nodded knowingly.

“You’re wondering if raising him the way you were raised is the best thing for him,” she stated.

“Well, I mean…you said yourself that gunrunning was Clay’s idea, not Dad’s,” he reminded.

“Yeah,” she stated.

“And I love the Club---don’t get me wrong, but…I’ve got Abel to think about.” _What if there’s a different way---a **better** way---to raise my boy? A way that doesn’t include all the violence and bloodshed?_ he wondered. Gemma resisted the urge to scream. It was already starting. He was pulling away from her. Damn it all to Hell! This wasn’t supposed to be happening! He was supposed to stay within the Club and be happy! She was being honest with him so that he **wouldn’t** want to leave. Okay. Calm down. She had to calm down. He wasn’t talking about leaving Charming. He was just thinking out loud. It was those letters. Those stupid letters from J.T. with all of his ramblings. What was she going to do? Almost unbidden, an image of Jax plowing into the semi entered her mind. Right. She was trying to keep **that** from happening.

“Well….you do what you think is best for your son, but just remember that Clay and I are here for you…no matter what,” she told him. He nodded and smiled.

“Thanks, Ma,” he said. _Wish I knew what to do but at least she’s listening to me_ , he mused. To be honest, he hadn’t really expected it.

“Of course,” she replied. _I’ll hold on to him. I’ll make sure that he doesn’t want to leave_ , she thought. She wasn’t going to let him kill himself.

“Ma. This---me talking out loud---doesn’t mean that I wanna leave Charming or you. You’re Abel’s Grandma. He’s gonna need someone tough in his corner,” he stated and she smiled. Talk. It was just talk. For now…at least. And when the time came, she would be able to convince him to stay in Charming, even if it meant he left the Club. That was okay. She could work with that. After all, according to that future she had been shown, the Club was still around. Just…different. She just had to make sure she led everyone in the right direction. _Gonna make sure that he doesn’t die_ , she mused. And that was the important thing: that she didn’t lose her family or the Club. Everything else was secondary. She would just have to be careful with what she said and how she reacted to things. She didn’t want to chase her son away. A part of her just wished that him being happy didn’t hinge on that uptight doctor bitch. Unfortunately, it did, so she would work with that. The door opening broke through the woman’s reverie and she and her son stood up as Tara walked out.

“How is he?” Jax queried.

“Resting. The surgery went really well,” Tara assured them. “Would you like to see him?” she queried.

“Yes,” Jax replied instantly as he stood up and Gemma did the same. _Gotta see for myself how he is_ , he thought to himself. Tara nodded and led them back to his incubator. “Wow. Damn…can’t get over how little he is,” he breathed.

“He’s definitely a fighter,” his ex-girlfriend responded, unable to keep the smile off of her face. _Kid stole my heart. Just like his father_ , she thought to herself. Ugh…why couldn’t she get rid of these stupid ass feelings? They weren’t conducive to staying away from him. And that’s what she needed to do. After all, it was pretty stupid to leave one shitty relationship just to enter another one. Not that her time with Jax had been shitty. Well…not overall…No! She couldn’t continue like this! She just had to keep everything professional. That was the most important thing.

“Just like his father,” the older woman stated. _Everything will be okay. Abel pulled through last time and he’ll pull through this time_ , she thought to herself. She just had to remember that.

“Yeah,” Tara agreed, smiling at the two who smiled back.

“Oh shit. Opie. I told him I’d check in with him about Ellie,” Jax recalled suddenly.

“I’ll do that, Baby. You stay with Abel,” Gemma assured.

“You sure?” he queried.

“Yeah. Besides, it’ll give me a chance to touch base with them as well,” she replied.

“Okay,” he agreed. _Glad she’s willing to help out_ , he thought to himself. Was it a little strange? Yeah, but he wasn’t going to question it. He wanted Opie and Donna to know that he was there for them even with everything that was going on with Abel. Opie was his best friend and he wasn’t going to just abandon him. And if that meant having his mom talk to him while he stayed with Abel, fine. He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to do damage control later on. Almost as if sensing his worry, Gemma smiled at her son reassuringly.

“I’ll be nice,” she promised. _Hate having to play nice. I’m the Queen and I’m not used to this_ , she mused. But she wasn’t going to say that out loud. It wasn’t helpful for one thing, and for another, she had no idea how she felt about having to play by somebody else’s rules just to get the ending **she** wanted and deserved.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Of course,” she replied. Their kid is sick. _The last thing they need is me bitching at them about the Club_ , she mused. Though the fact that Opie hadn’t even approached them about getting financial help for Ellie galled her. The Club was family and they took care of their own. She had figured that since things had changed and Ellie had gotten sick just as Abel had been born, that meant that he was supposed to stay with them, but apparently not. Giving herself a mental shake, she left and headed for the other room. In Ellie’s hospital room, Opie sighed as he watched his daughter who had once more fallen asleep. _Hate this_ , he thought to himself. He just wanted her to be well. Well, she **was** looking a bit better which was good, but he knew the doctor had stated that she still had a long way to go. And from the research he had done, he knew that it was possible that she could be in here for another few weeks, though he was hoping that she’d continue to respond to treatment and she could go home sooner rather than later. As if sensing his thoughts, Donna reached out to take Opie’s hand.

“You heard the doctors. She’s responding to treatment,” she reminded, squeezing his hand gently.

“I know. I just….I worry,” he admitted. She smiled at him and then they both turned when they heard the door opening.

“Gemma,” they noted together.

“Hey. Thought I’d check on you guys. See how you’re doing,” she stated.

“We’d be better if she was home,” Donna admitted.

“Fair enough,” the biker queen responded. If it was Jax lying in that bed, she’d be feeling the same damn way. _Don’t know what we’re going to do. Insurance won’t pay for this for much longer_ , she thought to herself. Not that she was going to say this out loud. The last thing in the world she wanted was for Gemma Morrow to know that they were hurting for money. If she **did** , she’d pull Opie right back into the Club and she didn’t want that. Yes, she and Luanne had been nice and gotten her and her family food---which she was grateful for---but she didn’t want her thinking that meant that she could dictate their lives.

“You guys need anything?” she asked.

“No. Thank you,” Donna said quickly.

“Babe, the insurance is about to run out. If the Club can help---” Opie started to say. Not that he was a big fan of bothering everyone with this, but he knew they wouldn’t let him down.

“We can manage,” Donna interrupted. And it was starting up again: Opie was turning back to the Club.

“We’d be happy to help,” Gemma assured. “But you guys should do what’s best for you and your family, even if it means getting your help elsewhere,” she continued.

“We’ll keep it in mind,” Donna stated and Gemma nodded, going to the door. Opie quickly followed, pulling her to the hall.

“Did you mean what you just said?”

“About the Club helping? Of course.”

“No, I mean…the other stuff.”

“Yes. I know you made a promise to your wife and you’re doing your best to honor it---just as a man should. You follow your heart and do what’s best for your family, no matter what. Okay, baby?” Opie nodded. _What is up with that?_ he wondered. This didn’t sound like Gemma at all. For as long as he could remember, she had always been all about the Club, same as his old man. And now she was telling him that it was okay to step away? Or…at least…that’s what it was sounding like. He really had no idea.

“Thanks,” he said out loud.

“Of course. I’ll leave you be,” she replied and walked off as the biker walked back into the room.

“What’d you tell her?” Donna asked worriedly. _Did he beg her for money? Is he going back to the life?_ she wondered. No! She couldn’t just jump to conclusions. He was her husband and she trusted him.

“Asked her if she was serious about what she said about me following my heart and doing what was right for our family.”

“And?”

“She was.” Donna nodded, letting out a breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding. He wasn’t going back. That was good. But at the same time, was it really fair of her to keep him from people who cared about him? Sure, they were criminals but Opie always said that they were his family too. She would have to think on this. But not right now. Right now, she was just going to focus on Ellie. Ellie was the important thing. As Gemma walked back to NICU, her eyes clouded. Spouting that crap about Opie following his heart with his family had been hard. What she **really** had wanted to do was grab him and tell him to grow a dick and take care of business the Club way---the right way. But she wasn’t going to take a chance that convincing Opie to stay with them would lead to his death. According to the redheaded guide bitch, something had happened to make Opie leave the Club which had actually saved his life and she was going to make sure that he stayed alive. With Opie alive and Tara alive, Jax wouldn’t take stupid risks and he wouldn’t be tempted to kill himself like John had. John. Sometimes she still missed him. Not that she would trade her life with Clay---and later Nero---for anything, but John was special. Okay, she couldn’t think like that. Everything was fine now. As she continued back to where Jax was, she saw Tara leaning against the wall, eyes clouded. _She looks exhausted_ , she thought to herself. And that meant that she was probably overworking herself again. As much as the younger woman annoyed her, the one thing she admired about her was her willingness to push herself past her limits, though she looked like she needed a nap. _Did she work this hard for Abel the last time and I just didn’t notice it?_ she wondered. That was entirely possible. After all, she had been completely focused on Abel and being there for Jax while making sure that Wendy didn’t try any of her skank tricks to get Jax back. She watched as something made the doctor jump, frowning a bit when she checked her phone and then quickly put it back in her pocket and scurrying away. _What was **that** about?_ she wondered. Tara had looked **scared** , which was weird. Oh well. She was sure it was nothing. And if she was wrong and it was **something** , she would figure it out later and act accordingly. For the time being though, she was just going to focus on Jax an Abel. Putting these thoughts aside, she went back to the room Abel was in, smiling when she saw that Jax had fallen asleep in a chair. _Don’t worry, Sweetie. I’ll make sure that you end up with everything you want_ , she thought to herself as she stepped forward and gently smoothed back his hair, an action she hadn’t done since he was a child. And this was one promise that she intended to keep…


	7. Banding Together Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

80s904ever: Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. Sorry this took so long. Hopefully you find the wait worth it.

MsBanshee: I know, right? But things will work out…hopefully. And yeah, Unser’s got his hands full, but remember, things in this story won’t be playing out **exactly** how they did in the show and that includes David Hale’s background and interactions with SAMCRO.

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX. I only own the new stuff.

Three days later, Donna and Opie were back at St Thomas, watching as one of the doctors listened to Ellie’s breathing. _Hate that she’s been so sick. Glad she’s been getting better though_ , he thought to himself. And hopefully she could come home soon. He missed her. As if sensing his unease, Donna reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers and he smiled at her gratefully as he squeezed her hand. _So glad he’s here_ , she thought. He had been so attentive since Ellie’s hospitalization and working extra hours as much as possible to pay for it all. And yet, from what she could see, they were still coming up short. _He’s trying…so hard...to do it the way I want him to. It’s not working for us_ , she thought. Why wasn’t it working? Why wasn’t their hard work paying off? Trying to fight back the tears, Donna bit her lip.

“Babe?” he queried. She let go of his hand and hurried out of the room.

“Mama?” Ellie rasped.

“I’ll go get her, Baby. You just keep being the brave girl you are,” Opie assured and followed the woman out into the hall. “Donna? What’s wrong?” he wondered.

“It’s not working for us,” she said. _I hate this!_ she thought to herself. She hated feeling so helpless. She just wanted things to work out for them.

“What---what do you mean?” he asked, freezing. _Does she mean the relationship? Is she going back to her idea of a divorce?_ he wondered, remembering some of the fights that they had had when he had first gotten out.

“We’re doing everything right! Being here for the kids, working the extra hours to pay for the bills and yet, it’s not working. Why isn’t it working?” she wondered as the tears began to fall down her face. _It’s not fair! With everything we’re doing, we should be able to pay the damn bills!_ she raged. But **no**! Everything was coming up short! It wasn’t fair!

“Babe,” he said, drawing her close. _She’s losing it and I’m failing as a husband. Been trying to cut back on beer and stuff so that more can go to the bills, but she’s right. This isn’t working_ , he mused. What were they going to do? He didn’t want to let her down anymore than he already was.

“Do you really think the Club will help?” Donna asked. _I don’t like the idea of being indebted to them, but I’m at my wit’s end here_ , she thought to herself. They had to do **something**. They had bills to pay.

“In a heartbeat,” he confirmed. “But are you sure?” he checked. _I don’t want her to feel like she’s being forced into making this decision_ , he thought to himself. After all, the last time they talked about this, she was dead set against it.

“Yes. Babe, we’ve tried making it on our own. Me when you were locked up and both of us now. It’s not working. I hate it, but it’s not,” she replied. “I just…I don’t want Gemma all up in our business trying to tell me how I should be taking care of our family.” It wasn’t her business even if Opie **was** in the Club, but everyone always acted like she had the right to stick her nose in other people’s business, which had always pissed her off.

“I get it.” And he **did**. As much as he loved Gemma, she didn’t really understand boundaries. The Club was her life and she could be a bit of a control freak, something that had led to some dust ups between her and his wife in the past. “And I’ll talk to Jax, see if he can get through to her.”

“Mommy, Daddy, is everything okay?” Ellie asked, panic creeping into her voice. Mommy was crying. Why was she crying? Was something wrong with her? She had thought that she was getting better. She felt better.

“Yes, Sweetie. Everything’s okay,” Donna replied reassuringly as she quickly wiped her eyes and she and her husband walked back into the room.

“I **am** getting better, right?” the girl checked.

“Yes,” they both answered.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. Daddy and I just had some things to discuss and we didn’t want to worry you, which evidently backfired,” the woman added and the girl nodded.

“Daddy, if the doctors say I’m better, can we go to the Fun Town Festival?” she asked. Opie’s eyes lit up as he smiled. Daddy. She was calling him Daddy! It hadn’t registered with him a few days earlier because he was so frantic over her temperature, but now the word was like a balm to his heart.

“We’ll see what the doctors say,” he responded. _Can’t believe it. she called me ‘Daddy’_ , he thought to himself. Up until now she hadn’t been calling him anything. Oh she tolerated him well enough but she hadn’t been interested in getting to know him. And now she had called him ‘Daddy’. Yes, he was going to be riding that high for a while.

“Okay,” she accepted with a sigh. _Hate this. Want to get out of here and have fun_ , she huffed.

“The festival will be here a whole week, sweetheart, so even if you can’t do it yet, you may still have some time to go if the doctors say you can,” her mother comforted. _Poor thing. She’s been so cooped up and she’s probably going crazy now_ , she mused.

“That’s right,” the doctor who was checking on her confirmed. “All finished,” he announced.

“And?” Opie prodded.

“She can go home. However, she still has some medication she has to take for the next couple of weeks,” the doctor stated.

“Okay,” the couple said.

“I can go home?” Ellie asked excitedly. _I’ll be able to sleep in my own bed?_ she thought. She couldn’t wait. It had been **way** too long.

“Yes,” the doctor confirmed.

“I can see Grandpa again. I missed him,” she stated and Opie’s eyes clouded. Dad had wanted to visit but with the pneumonia and his respiratory problems from the Emphysema, it hadn’t been a good idea as he was at a greater risk for infection.

“And he missed you too, honey,” her mother said. _He asks about her all the time. It’s obvious he cares about her_ , she mused. And she **did** love the fact that Piney was so devoted to the kids. What was she going to do?

“I’ll go get her signed out,” Opie said.

“Okay,” Donna said. He gave her a quick kiss and then went to go sign the paperwork. While this was going on, in another part of the hospital, Wendy was also getting signed out.

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” Tara checked.

“Yeah, Promises is really good. And I’m gonna really make an effort this time. Martha---my sponsor---and I were talking and we decided that it might be better for me to go to one of their other facilities outside of Charming,” Wendy replied, causing the other woman to glance at her suspiciously.

“Really? And did you have… **help** …with this decision?”

“You mean did **Gemma** “encourage me” to leave town?” The doctor didn’t answer but her eyes flickered in concern, giving the other woman her answer. Hey, it was a valid question. Gemma was a total control freak and if she thought you were beneath her; she’d chase you away. “No. She hasn’t been by since she told me that Abel was okay.” At this, Tara nodded. “I get your concern, and thank you for it. But the decision for me to leave was my own. Gemma’s never even met Martha.”

“Okay.” Then, “Do you want to see Abel before you leave?” “Yes.” Once she was sure Wendy had everything, Tara took her down to the NICU and the woman gasped.

“Oh Abel,” she said in a choked voice. “My sweet boy.” _They said it was bad, but I didn’t realize it was this bad_ , she thought to herself. What had she done? No wonder Gemma had been pissed at her. She had done this to him. She had hurt him so badly. He was so little.

“He’s doing good. He’s a fighter.”

“Like Jax.” Tara watched as Wendy gave a wobblily smile. _Can’t even imagine what she’s going through_ , she thought. Granted, she wouldn’t have put shit inside her body while she was pregnant, but Wendy was trying now. So that had to count for something, right? Right. She just had to keep telling herself that. To remind herself that she was a doctor, a healer, and she couldn’t give in to the urge to throttle the other woman for being so stupid. It was hard though. She couldn’t even **imagine** putting her own baby at risk and yet Wendy had done so. But then again, she had been addicted to crank and as a doctor, she knew just how hard beating an addiction could be. She had seen it countless times in Chicago.

“And you. You’re fighting for your second chance.” Wendy shrugged. _Not so strong. I did this to Abel. And now I’m wanting another hit_ , she thought.

“I’m uh…ready to go.” She needed to get out of here before she did something stupid again.

“Okay.” Without another word, Tara led Wendy to the sign out desk where they found a woman waiting.

“Hi, Wendy,” the woman greeted.

“Hey Martha,” the other woman replied.

“You got everything you need?” Martha asked.

“Yeah,” Wendy replied and the two walked out. While this was going on, some of the members of the Sons Of Anarchy Club---Clay, Gemma, Jax, Bobby, and Tig---were at the festival. Gemma and Clay were walking around while Jax, Bobby, and Tig were on one of the rides, laughing like little boys. Moments later, they were done and walking away.

“So…word around town is that Unser’s got a new deputy. What’s that about?” Jax wondered.

“Unser’s sick. Bladder cancer,” Bobby answered. _Poor guy. Cancer’s bad enough, but on your fucking bladder?_ he mused.

“Holy shit,” Jax replied. “Well, will the new guy play ball if we need him to?” he added.

“Not likely. It’s David Hale,” Bobby answered.

“Oh shit,” everyone said. Hale was as straight as they came. He couldn’t be bought, which was bad news for the Club.

“Great. Dudly-Do-Right. Perfect,” Tig complained. _Just what we didn’t need. This sucks_ , he fumed. How could Unser accept the guy? He was the Chief of police which meant that he had final say in his deputies, so why not chase the guy off like he had countless others?

“Well I’m not a fan of the shithead either, but better than an unknown I guess,” Jax sighed. Not that Hale was all that bad. Sure the guy had a stick up his ass regarding SAMCRO calling them punks, thugs, and everything else, but at least he cared about the town. And to Jax, that was pretty important. And besides, he wasn’t **all** wrong about SAMCRO. Some of them **were** thugs, though Jax was wanting to change that image. In another part of the carnival, Gemma smirked as she followed Clay into the photobooth. _I remember this. We had fun the first time around_ , she mused. And now they would have fun again. Once they were inside the booth, they shut themselves in, placed the quarters in the slot, and then, as the machine began to whir, Clay placed his hand down her pants and began stroking her, causing her to moan. _Oh my…oh fuck_ , she thought to herself, moaning. She had missed this. She had missed his attention. _I have my life back. It’s going to be okay_ , she thought to herself. She’d have it all. She was going to be happy and Jax was going to be alive. That was all that mattered: Jax being alive. But she would worry about that later. Right now she was going to have some fun. Unaware of what the Biker Queen and King were doing, Jax, Bobby, and Tig had gotten on another ride. _Yeah, having a blast_ , Jax thought to himself. This was exactly what he had needed. All the shit with Wendy and Abel had done a number on him and he needed to just forget it for a little bit. Not that he could really forget what Abel was going through. But at least Tara was keeping them updated. Tara. Damn…his body still reacted to her. So did his heart for that matter. No! He couldn’t give her his heart! She’d stomp all over it again. Okay, don’t think about her. Just focus on having fun. Moments later, the ride came to a stop and Tig, Jax, and Bobby walked through the fairgrounds some more. Suddenly, Jax grinned.

“Looks like Juice finally made it,” he commented.

“Doesn’t look like he brought the Prospect though,” Bobby stated.

“Hey,” Juice greeted.

“Juice,” Tig, Bobby, and Jax chorused.

“Where’s the Prospect?” Tig wondered.

“Cleaning the bikes. Noticed they were looking a bit dingy,” Juice replied.

“You’re really milking this, aren’t ya?” Tig sniggered.

“Hell yeah,” Juice confirmed. He was no longer a Prospect which meant that he didn’t have to do the shit jobs anymore. Of **course** he would milk it. At this, Tig and Bobby shook their heads. Crazy kid. However, before they could say anything, footsteps were heard approaching and they all turned to see Gemma and Clay.

“Having fun?” Tig teased.

“Hell yeah,” Gemma smirked.

“Don’t need to know,” Jax quickly interjected and everyone laughed. Jax’s eyes flickered as the Oswald family, Elliot, Karen, and Tristan, walked by.

“Mom, can I have money for more tickets? There’s more rides I wanna go on,” the girl requested. _Having a great time and there’s still so much more stuff to see and do_ , she thought to herself. And hanging out with her parents was boring. Seriously, did they have to be so overprotective?

“Honey, you know that---”

“She can have mine. I’m through,” Jax interjected, causing them to turn and stare.

“Are you sure?” Elliot queried as the biker pulled his remaining tickets out of his pockets.

“Yeah,” Jax replied, handing them to the girl. _Wow_ , she thought. She couldn’t believe she had gotten so lucky.

“What do you say?” Karen prompted.

“Thank you,” Tristan stated.

“Just have fun,” Jax told her and she ran off, her parents close behind.

“Speaking of having fun, ready for another round in the photobooth?” Clay suggestively asked Gemma.

“Sure. And this time, I’ll get **you** off,” she leered, causing Juice, Tig, and Bobby to laugh while Jax groaned. _Did **not** need to hear that_, the blonde-haired biker thought. However, he left this unsaid and headed to another part of the fairgrounds with the others.

“I’m hungry,” Juice stated.

“You’re always hungry,” Bobby replied. “Sometimes I think you’re high with as big as your appetite is,” he joked.

“Oh fuck you,” Juice grumbled.

“Not my type,” Bobby retorted.

“I could go for some food myself,” Tig interjected.

“All right, I think I saw a burger stand somewhere,” Jax said and he led the way. At Teller-Morrow, Half-Sack sighed as he finished with the last bike.

“Hey,” a voice said and the younger man turned to see Opie’s father, Piney.

“Hey,” he responded.

“You’re done for the day. Why don’t you go out and have some fun?” the older man encouraged.

“But they said---” Half-Sack started to protest.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, I have Emphysema, not heart failure. I’m not gonna keel over on you. Go!” he encouraged. Deciding not to argue, Half-Sack went to his own bike, started it, and then headed off. _Really **did** want to go to Fun Town_, he thought to himself. Now he’d be able to. At the fair, Tristan grinned and screamed in delight as the roller-coaster she was on spun around. _Having a blast_ , she thought. Who said the Sons were all bad? Obviously they weren’t since the one---Jax---had been willing to give his tickets. And her parents were actually letting her do some stuff by herself, which was nice. She then sighed as the ride came to a stop and she walked off, not noticing when one of the carnival clowns started following her. She headed for one of the bathrooms and then---her eyes widened as she felt someone grab her from behind and she started to struggle, opening her mouth to scream but the clown placed his hand over her mouth and dragged her away.


	8. Banding Together Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX. I only own the new stuff.

After they finished eating, Jax, Bobby, Tig, and Juice continued walking around the carnival, laughing and smiling.

“TRISTAN!” Hearing Karen’s frantic scream, they all headed in the direction it had come from. When they got to one of the rides, they found Karen and Elliot looking around frantically.

“What’s wrong?” Juice queried.

“Tristan disappeared. She was supposed to meet us right here,” Elliot answered. _Shit!_ Tig thought. Kid had probably gotten lost.

“Spread out,” Jax snapped and with that, the Sons took off in different directions, each calling Tristan’s name. As he searched, Jax pulled his phone out of his pocket and then dialed Gemma’s phone.

“Hello?” she asked. _Why would he be calling me?_ she wondered. He was a grown ass man who didn’t need to be checking in. Unless…he had heard something about Abel?

“Tristan Oswald disappeared. Her parents are freaking,” he reported.

“Shit,” Gemma said as she started looking around, the action catching Clay’s attention.

“What is it? Abel?” he asked in concern. _Hasn’t that kid been through enough hell?_ he silently griped.

“Tristan Oswald’s missing. Her parents are going apeshit according to Jax,” she told him. _Crap! I can’t believe I forgot about what happened to her!_ she thought to herself. But then, Ellie Winston had gotten sick which hadn’t happened in the other timeline so it hadn’t even occurred to her that Tristan would still be in danger. _I don’t believe this! Why would this still happen to her?_ she wondered. Wasn’t once enough?

“Fuck,” Clay as he began to do the same. As they searched, the two groups stopped various people, describing Tristan and what she was wearing. _Shit. Gotta find her_ , Jax thought to himself as he listened to Gemma calling for the girl on his phone. She was probably scared to death. And he wouldn’t be able to blame her. This place was huge. His eyes clouded as he looked around. Where was she? He had a really bad feeling all of a sudden, but he couldn’t really place it.

“Tristan!” he shouted and then waited for a response. When it didn’t come, he called her name again. This time, a small whimper reached his ears and he hurried off in the direction of the sound. Then, he stopped, eyes wide. “Oh shit,” he said, his body tensing as he took in the torn clothing.

“Jax, what is it?” Gemma queried.

“Get Unser out here. Tristan’s been assaulted,” Jax replied. _Damn. Poor kid’s probably scared as hell_ , he worried. And he had no idea what he could do or say to keep her calm. He wasn’t any good at that kind of shit.

“Shit,” Gemma stated. “Where are you?” Jax looked around and described where he was while he carefully approached the girl who was whimpering.

“Hey. It’s okay, you’re safe,” Jax said soothingly.

“Mommy…Daddy…” the girl whimpered.

“They’re on their way.” Sure enough, the couple arrived moments later as did an ambulance to take Tristan away and Chief Unser and David Hale who immediately started canvassing the area.

“What happened, Jax?” Wayne asked.

“I heard Karen Oswald shouting for Tristan, learned that she was missing, and me, Juice, Bobby, and Tig started searching while I called Mom to let her know. Figured we could cover more ground that way,” Jax replied. “I found her, realized what happened, had Mom call you,” he continued.

“All right. Get outta here,” the chief stated and Jax took off. Once Hale was done talking to witnesses, he activated his radio.

“I’ve got nothing, chief. I’m gonna head on over to St. Thomas to talk to the girl,” he reported.

“Copy that,” Wayne replied. David sighed. _Not what I wanted to deal with today_ , he thought. Poor Tristan was only thirteen and this crap had happened to her? Giving himself a mental shake, he went back to his cruiser, got in, started the car, and headed to St. Thomas. When he got there, he was surprised to see bikes with the Sons Of Anarchy logo in the parking lot. _What are they doing here?_ he wondered. Then, he remembered: Jax had a kid in the NICU. Which meant that they were either here to visit the boy or to provide an alibi for the guy who had attacked Tristan and right now, it was a toss up on which one it was. The man frowned in concentration as he mentally ran through the list of the Sons Of Anarchy members’ crimes. Otto Delaney had a history of assault but was still in prison, though to his knowledge, the guy hadn’t ever gone after kids, which could be said of the rest of the members in town. Maybe someone visiting from a different charter? He’d have to figure this out. Still musing on suspects, he walked into the hospital, heading for the information desk.

“Can I help you?” the desk nurse---an older woman---asked.

“Yes. Chief Deputy Hale, I’m looking for Tristan Oswald who was recently brought in,” he replied, showing her his badge.

“I remember you, David,” the woman assured. “Room 103,” she told him.

“Thank you,” he responded and went there, opening the door and causing Karen and Elliot to turn to stare at him as the doctor finished.

“Have you found this bastard yet?” Elliot demanded.

“No,” David replied.

“Why not?” Elliot barked out.

“Chief Unser and I were getting witnesses statements,” David answered.

“Find the asshole who did this,” Elliot snarled. _I don’t want platitudes! I want the man who hurt my daughter to suffer!_ he seethed.

“Tristan, do you remember anything about this guy?” David asked and she shook her head. “I was grabbed from behind. He was strong,” she responded. “I---I tried to---to fight, but….”

“Was there anything you noticed?” Hale pressed. “Tattoos? A smell?” he continued. If he had something to go on, he could get this guy and lock him up before he hurt somebody else.

“She just said ‘No’,” Karen retorted. _I don’t want this guy trying to come after her. She needs to stay quiet_ , she thought to herself. And besides, what could this cop do? Most likely the guy wouldn’t do very much time. After all, she knew that the justice system was broken beyond all repair.

“Okay. I’ll let her get some rest. Tristan, you can call me any time if you remember something or just want to talk,” David said, leaving her a card.

“Thank you, Deputy Hale,” the girl said. He nodded and then walked out of the room. “Can we go home now?” she asked.

“Of course,” Elliot replied and went to go get the forms. While this was going on, Tara was doing her rounds. _Glad Ellie was able to go home and that Abel’s getting better_ , she thought to herself. A sharp buzz broke through her reverie and she grabbed her phone out of her pocket and answered it.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Hey, Tar Tar. You’re hard to find,” a familiar voice said. Immediately, Tara hung up. _Shit. How’d he get this number? I had it changed!_ she thought to herself. Hearing footsteps, she turned to see David.

“Everything okay?” he queried, seeing her distressed expression.

“Yeah,” she answered. “Can I ask you something though?” she asked.

“Sure, what’s up?” David wondered.

“If you have a restraining order placed on someone in another city or state, would it still be valid someplace else?” Tara questioned. _Don’t want Josh coming after me_ , she thought to herself. She wanted to be safe. And she didn’t feel safe. Especially now that he apparently had her new number. _Don’t like this_ , she mused. Maybe she could get a burner from Gemma. Wow. Gemma. Yeah, she was **that** desperate. Then again, the woman was acting differently than she had expected so maybe it would be okay.

“Depends. Every state’s a little different,” he replied. “You think this someone’s coming here?”

“No! No, I doubt it.” He waited. “There was this guy I was seeing in Chicago during my internship and it got a little…” She sighed. “It’s hard to explain.” No need to tell him what had happened to her there. After all, it wasn’t like the guy would come here. He **hated** small towns and his job wouldn’t ever bring him to Charming. It was just…better to know for her own peace of mind.

“You want me to check to see if he’s in the system?”

“No! No! I’m..probably just being paranoid.”

“How long ago did you get the r.o.?”

“About six or seven months ago.”

“I’ll make some general calls. See if it’s good out here.”

“Thanks.” Tara let out a sigh of relief as she continued her rounds. David was taking care of things. Still…a new phone probably wasn’t a bad idea. Okay, she would ask Gemma the next time she saw her. Yeah, she would pry, but it would be worth it. And she would be safe. That was all that mattered. And besides, what was that saying? Better the devil you knew? With Gemma, she knew where she stood and she knew how she felt about women being in danger, so she’d give her a phone if she asked for one. She gave herself a mental shake and then went back to her rounds, stopping when she saw Elliot Oswald taking care of some forms.

“Are you guys leaving?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes, Tristan wants to go home and I’m not going to make her stay here if she doesn’t want to,” the man replied and she nodded. That was fair enough. If she was in the girl’s position, she wouldn’t want to stay here very long either. Meanwhile, Wayne had gone back to his place.

“Wayne, what’s wrong?” Janice asked, seeing his distraught look as he quickly began writing on a piece of paper.

“We caught a bad one. Sexual assault. Girl was only thirteen,” he replied.

“Holy shit,” the woman breathed. _That poor family. They must be freaking out_ , she thought to herself. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how they must’ve been feeling.

“Yeah.”

“Any suspects?”

“Nothing yet. Decided to come here, make a list, see if anything jumped out at me.” Janice nodded. That made sense. And it was something that he had done before. Back at the fairgrounds, families milled around, going on the rides and eating food. Juice scowled as he and the others occasionally questioned people. Why was Jax bothering with this? Why did they have to worry about some rich family? Okay, yes, it was horrible what had happened to the girl, but the family didn’t really like them so why did they have to stick out their necks for them? Chibs glanced at him, brows furrowing in concern when he saw the scowl.

“What are ye thinkin’?” he wondered.

“What has this family ever done for the Sons that Jax would take this so personally?” the younger boy queried.

“I don’t know,” came the response. And he didn’t. The boy had been acting strange since he had learned of the assault. In fact, he had sent them back here while sticking close to the hospital, though that could’ve been just worry about his own wee bairn. But he wasn’t sure. He had acted protective of the child that had been hurt: making sure none of the others had seen her, vowing vengeance…something was going on but he wasn’t sure what. The object of Chibs’ thoughts walked into St Thomas, looking around until he saw the person he was looking for.

“Hale,” Jax called, causing the older man to turn around.

“What can I do for you, Jax?” he asked.

“She say anything about the guy who hurt her?” the biker wondered.

“Investigation is on-going. That’s all I can say,” the deputy replied.

“So you have nothing,” came the realization. _Damn. Hate this_ , he thought to himself. “The carnival’s only in town for a short time. What if this guy tries something with another girl before they leave?”

“And what if the attacker is closer to home?” the officer retorted meaningfully.

“You think a Sons did this?” the younger man gasped in disbelief. _She’s a little girl! None of us would hurt her!_ he thought to himself.

“You all have records for assault,” David reminded. _And Unser usually looks the other way on it_ , he thought to himself. Yeah, that rankled. But he was going to do his best to be the kind of officer this town needed and could depend on.

“Not against children! We weeded that shit out of the club a long time ago!” Jax insisted. “Damn it, Hale! Why are you wasting time looking at the Sons?” _I can’t believe that he would actually think I would let something like this fly!_ he seethed. Seeing the agitated stance, David sighed. _Shit_ , he thought. He should’ve remembered. Without another word, David took Jax aside.

“Okay, you have a point. I apologize,” he stated.

“Thank you,” Jax said. “With the history of some of the older members, I guess I get how you could think…”

“You trusted me to do right in a similar situation once. Will you trust me again?” David asked softly. At this, Jax’s eyes flickered. _Is he seriously asking me this?_ he wondered. Why would he even bring that up when they had both agreed to never mention it ever again? Okay, yes, maybe he was kind of losing it, but that didn’t mean he had to bring up the past. But then again, with the accusation, maybe it was his way of apologizing. Should he accept it? With a sigh, he nodded.

“Yes,” he agreed.

“Thank you,” he said. “Truth is, Karen Oswald’s a mess, rightfully so and she’s not letting anyone but the doctors near Tristan,” he continued.

“Understandable,” Jax commented.

“Yeah,” David agreed. “But I don’t really have anything to go on,” he confessed.

“You want us to see if we can find anything out?” the biker offered.

“No. I’ve got this. Thanks though.” Jax nodded and walked away.

“Everythin’ all right, Jackie-Boy?” Chibs checked.

“Yeah, it’s all good,” Jax replied. “Come on. Let’s get back to T.M.,” he said. With that, they all headed out. Meanwhile, Gemma sighed as she headed for St. Thomas. _It was a clown the last time. Wonder if it’s the same guy again_ , she thought to herself. Well, she was about to find out. Without stopping to talk to anyone, she went to find Karen who was signing forms in Tristan’s room. _Just want to get her home. Not gonna let her be gawked at any more_ , the woman thought to herself. Seeing this, Gemma knocked. _She was out earlier the last time around_ , she thought to herself. Eliot had raised a shit storm and had made sure of it. So what had changed this time around? She knocked on the door and the other woman jumped.

“Hey. It’s just me,” Gemma said reassuringly.

“Oh. Hi,” Karen said coolly. _I don’t need her interfering_ , she thought to herself.

“Did they catch the guy?” Tristan queried.

“Not yet,” Gemma answered. “They uh…don’t really have a lot to go on,” she continued.

“But I gave my statement!” Tristan exclaimed.

“I know, Sweetie,” Gemma said. “But they need more,” she said.

“There isn’t any more,” Karen insisted. “How about letting her speak for herself?” Gemma challenged.

“How dare you? I’m protecting her!” Karen snapped. _Figures she’d try to meddle_ , she huffed. This is exactly what she was trying to avoid!

“Mom. It’s okay,” Tristan interjected.

“Are you sure?” Karen asked.

“Yes,” Tristan replied and Gemma waited. “It was….”


	9. Banding Together Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX. I only own the new stuff.

“One of the clowns,” Tristan revealed. “He smelled like corn dogs and tamales and there was a snake tattoo on his right arm. I saw it when I was trying to fight him off,” she continued. _And I should’ve fought harder. Maybe if I had, he wouldn’t have been able to hurt me_ , she thought to herself. Hearing this, Gemma nodded.

“Thank you, Sweetie,” she said. _Snake tattoo. That’s distinctive_ , she mused. She hadn’t heard that the last time. Everything else was the same though. Now then, to get the information to Jax so that the Club could handle things.

“Can we go now?” the girl queried.

“Of course,” her mother agreed. Gemma watched as the family left. Then, she went back out and headed for the exit. When Tara saw her, she went over to her.

“Gemma, hey. Were you here to check on Abel?” she asked.

“No. Wanted to check on the Oswald family. Was worried,” she replied and the younger woman nodded in understanding.

“Yeah, it…sucks,” she stated. Then, she bit her lip. _Should I ask her?_ she mused. She would be taking a leap of faith here.

“What is it?” Gemma wondered. _I don’t remember her being this nervous the last time around_ , she thought to herself. Then again, last time, she had just been focused on Abel and chasing Wendy away.

“This is gonna sound a little strange, but uh…do you have a burner phone I can borrow? I broke up with this guy before leaving Chicago and he’s just not taking ‘No’ for an answer,” she admitted. Well, it was out there now and no telling **what** Gemma would do with the information, but it was worth the shot.

“Yes, of course. I’ll check the Clubhouse and find one I can give you,” Gemma replied. _Wow. She didn’t do this last time_ , she thought. So not giving Wendy the drugs had actually paid off. Tara was trusting her. And that’s what she needed and wanted: Tara to trust her and to like her so she wouldn’t want to take Abel and Thomas away later in life.

“Thank you,” Tara responded. _Can’t believe it was that easy_ , she thought to herself. Well, it was sure to change later, but to be honest, she didn’t care. She smiled at the older woman and then went on her way. As Gemma headed to her car, she felt her lips curve into a smile. It was working! Her choices were pulling Tara towards them instead of repelling her! Okay, that was taken care of. Now she just had to get the Club onto that asshole clown that had raped Tristan. As she got into the car, she pulled her phone out and dialed Jax’s number.

“Yeah?” she heard him ask a few moments later.

“Hey. I took a chance and talked to Karen Oswald. She gave up the bastard who raped her,” she announced.

“Who was it?” Jax questioned sharply.

“Clown at the carnival. Guy had a snake tat on his right arm and according to Tristan smelled like corn dogs and tamales,” she replied.

“Snake tat. Yeah I think I saw that guy,” Jax repeated thoughtfully. “Thanks.”

“Yup.” Gemma hung up and then went back to Teller-Morrow Auto, going to the office. Burner phone. She needed one for Tara. As he hung up, Jax sighed.

“What is it?” Bobby queried.

“Mom got Tristan to talk. It was one of the clowns. The one with the snake tat,” Jax replied.

“So let’s go get the son of a bitch,” Tig encouraged and the others voiced their agreement.

“It’s Oswald’s kid. He should have the first say in this,” Jax interjected. _I hear what they’re saying but if it was my kid, I’d want first crack at the bastard_ , he thought to himself. Plus he had promised Hale that he’d trust him with this, but the others didn’t need about that.

“Okay, fair enough,” Bobby replied. _That’s a good point_ , he thought to himself. Why should they take away a father’s decision of what to do about their kid’s rapist? Granted, if it had happened to one of **his** kids, he’d kill the asshole, but that was beside the point.

“Let’s go see what he wants to do,” Tig determined and the others nodded.

“I’ll meet you later. I wanna check on Abel. I’m suddenly feeling….I don’t know,” Jax declared.

“We get it. Go,” Bobby told him and they all parted ways. As Jax headed for the police station, his eyes clouded. Hated lying to them but they’d never understand. _Hell, they still don’t know why stuff like this gets to me_ , he mused. And if he had his way, they would **never** find out. Okay. Hale. He had to get to Hale---let him know what Tristan said. Wait. He could call the department and ask for Hale. Yeah, that sounded good. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number.

“Hale,” he heard a few moments later.

“Tristan Oswald talked. Apparently my mom got to her,” he announced.

“And?” the officer prodded.

“And it was one of the clowns. Guy with a snake tat on his right arm who apparently has a thing for corn dogs and tamales,” he responded.

“Thanks,” Hale said.

“Hey you asked for trust. This is me giving it to you. Fair warning, rest of the Club wants this guy’s blood,” Jax responded.

“Can’t say that I blame ‘em this time,” Hale stated. “Thanks Jax. I’ll keep you out of this.”

“Appreciate it.” Hale hung up and headed out. _Damn. Jax took a risk with that_ , he mused. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what they thought of him and how they would feel about what the younger man had done, so if anyone asked, he would just say that he had gotten an anonymous tip. Did he still hate what the Sons stood for? Yes, that wouldn’t ever change, but Jax had shown him that he was willing to trust him and he wasn’t going to betray that. And yes, he would still take the Sons down and dismantle their gang. He wanted Charming to be a safe town and that couldn’t happen with them running it. But all of that would come later. Right now, he just had to focus on finding Tristan’s rapist. Then he could figure out what to do about SAMCRO. As he headed back to the carnival, he pulled his phone out and dialed Wayne’s number.

“Hello?” the chief asked.

“Got a call. Tristan’s rapist was identified as a clown with a snake tattoo,” Hale reported.

“Who called this in?” Wayne queried. “Jax Teller,” David replied.

“And you trust this? Even though it was a Son that told you?” the older man asked skeptically. _He’s made it no secret that he wants to shut them down, so why would he be willing to take the word of one of them at face value all of a sudden?_ he wondered.

“Yes,” came the response. _Can’t tell him why even though he’s probably wondering_ , he mused. There were just some things he had to keep to himself. And this was one of them.

“All right. I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds good, Chief.” David hung up, his eyes clouding. _Okay, time to get this bastard off the streets_ , he thought to himself. With that, he headed for the carnival and immediately started looking for the guy. _Hope they don’t try to protect the bastard_ , he thought to himself. That sometimes happened. But then again, given the nature of the crime, it probably wouldn’t happen. He just wasn’t sure though. Okay, focus. Find the guy. Arrest him first. As he searched, he frowned in concentration, the frown deepening when he saw familiar kuttes. _Shit. SAMCRO’s here_ , he thought. Just what he didn’t need. Well, at least Jax had warned him so he knew how to take care of things. But why had Jax warned him? Was it really because he had asked him for some trust? Would he really do that for him? It didn’t make sense given his history with the Club but at the same time, he wasn’t going to ignore it. Jax was doing him a solid and he was grateful for it, though that didn’t mean he wouldn’t take him and his buddies down when the time came. But that time wasn’t now. Now he just had to focus on finding the bastard that brutally raped a thirteen-year old girl. And yeah that pissed him off. For the most part, kids were innocent and needed to be protected. Yes there were some kids who were evil incarnate, but Tristan was not one of them. Okay, the carny, he had to find the carny. This guy needed to be off the streets. No way was he allowing this bastard to just roam around any longer than necessary. With a sigh, he continued on his way.

“Hey, you got a minute?” he asked one of the workers.

“Whatta ya want?” the man queried.

“Looking for one of your clowns, guy with a snake tattoo on his right arm, has a penchant for the corn dogs and tamales here,” David told him.

“Yeah that’s Mick,” the man replied.

“Where is he now?” David wondered.

“Probably by the Tilt-A-Whirl,” came the response.

“Thanks.” “Yeah no problem.” With that, David walked off, texting the information to Chief Unser. After receiving the text, Wayne also headed for the Tilt-A Whirl. _Finally, we’re gonna get this bastard_ , he thought to himself. He just hoped that the guy didn’t try to be difficult. He was too old, too tired, and too sick to deal with this kind of shit. Okay he couldn’t think like that. They had to catch this guy.

“HELP ME! LET ME GO!” Hearing the girl’s scream, Unser and Hale immediately pulled their guns out, hurrying in the direction of the scream.

“Shut up,” the man sneered, backhanding her and she began crying. “I said SHUT UP!” he bellowed, backhanding the girl again.

“Police! Let her go!” Unser announced. For an answer, the man reached over and ripped the girl’s blouse. Almost instantaneously, a shot rang out and Unser watched as the bullet lodged itself in the man’s leg, forcing him to fall to the ground.

“Nice shot, David,” he complimented.

“Not really. I was aiming for his thigh,” the younger man deadpanned. Unser rolled his eyes as they quickly ran to the girl, Hale, removing his jacket. “Did he…hurt you?” he queried, handing her the jacket and the girl shook her head, taking the jacket as Unser began reading the man his rights. Having heard the shots, SAMCRO headed in the direction that they had heard the sounds and then stopped when they saw what was happening.

“Shit. Unser got to this bastard first,” Tig complained.

“Let ‘em have it. Neither Unser or Hale will let this prick see the outside again,” Jax told them.

“Yeah, all right,” the others accepted. _Don’t like it. Would rather kill him_ , Tig thought to himself. But he wasn’t going to go up against the Vice President. Wearing slight scowls, the group headed out. Back at Teller-Morrow Automotive, Gemma had **finally** found what she was looking for: a clean burner. _Oh good. This is one of Jax’s old ones_ , she thought to herself as she looked at the model. Luckily, it was the one that he had previously used when dating Wendy which meant that it had already been scrubbed. Making a quick decision, she programmed in her number and Jax’s. If she wanted Tara to trust her, she’d have to make herself available to her. Eyes clouding, she went to her car, got in, started the car, and headed for the hospital. Hopefully, she didn’t miss her. She hadn’t really paid attention to the other woman’s schedule the first time around, so she wasn’t sure if she was still on shift. Within moments she was at the hospital. _Okay, Tara. Need to find Tara_ , she thought as she looked around. Then she smiled. Her car was still here. Tara was still here. This was good. She parked the car, grabbed the phone off the dash, locked the car, and then walked in, looking around. Seeing this, one of the nurses walked up to her.

“Can I help you, Mrs. Teller?” a nurse asked.

“Yes, I’m looking for doctor Knowles,” she replied. “Is she still in the NICU?” she wondered.

“Yes. Do you want me to go get her?”

“No. Thank you.” With that, the Biker Queen headed for the hospital wing. _Hopefully this will work out in the long run_ , she thought to herself. She wanted this to go her way. She threw this thought off and continued on her way. Where was she? Had she missed her? Presently, she found who she was looking for. “Tara!” she called. Seeing her, the woman stopped.

“Gemma,” she noted. _Is this it? Is this where instead of giving me a phone, she tells me to stay away from Jax and that Abel doesn’t need me anymore?_ she wondered. Yes, she could readily admit that she was nervous. And why not? This was Gemma fucking Teller, the woman who bullied people into doing what she wanted. And yet…she hadn’t done that with her. No, she had been nothing but nice. And that confused her to no end. It just didn’t make sense.

“Got the burner you asked for,” Gemma said.

“So fast?” Tara asked in surprise.

“Found one that Jax scrubbed and tossed after breaking up with Wendy. I know, I know, it’s not ideal, being the phone that was used to contact his ex-junkie whore girlfriend, but---” Gemma responded, her words trailing off as she realized how it probably looked. _Shit! I shouldn’t have used this phone! She probably thinks I’m trying to play head games!_ she berated herself. That was the last thing she wanted or needed.

“It was short notice. I understand,” Tara interjected. _She’s right. It’s not ideal but it’s untraceable which is all that matters_ , she mused.

“I programmed the phone with mine and Jax’s numbers. You can add more if you want,” Gemma said. Then, at the look “No pressure or expectations. You asked for a burner and figured I’d give you a couple of numbers in case you needed them. You’re under no obligation to use them.” Tara nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah. I’ll let you get back to work.” Gemma gave Tara a nod of her own and started off.

“Gemma.” The woman turned and her eyes flickered as the doctor reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone. “Can the Club take care of this? I uh…I don’t want--” Gemma took the phone and dropped it into her pocket.

“Consider it done, Sweetie.” _Now who the hell is after her?_ she wondered. Was it the ATF bastard? And if so, just how bad was he? Well, obviously, pretty bad if she was asking for a new burner and for the Club to destroy her phone. Gemma walked out of the hospital, got into her car, and headed back to the Clubhouse. Once there, she went looking for Juice, finding him with a Crow Eater who was situated between his legs, rubbing against him. “Juice, need a quick favor,” she said.

“Little busy right now, Gemma.”

“It’s important,” she said. He sighed and sighed and stood up, ignoring the girl’s surprised exclamation. “What’s up?” he questioned and Gemma pulled Tara’s phone out of her pocket and handed it to him.

“Friend of the Club’s being stalked. Need you to disable the GPS, scrub it, and then get rid of it.”

“I’m on it.” With that, he walked away, going to the back part of the Clubhouse, studying the phone’s model. _Oh this will be easy_ , he thought to himself as he headed to where they kept their computer, logging into the model, and pulling up the number, his eyes widening when he saw the name. _The doc looking after Abel?_ he wondered. Well, hell. This would be a pleasure. He kinda liked her. Smirking, he went into the settings for the phone, found the GPS app and disabled it and then proceeded to delete her number from service and then deleted all of the other numbers on her phone. Once this was done, he logged off of the computer, shutting it down. Then he took the phone and threw it onto the ground shattering it. Then, he stomped on it, shattering it more, smirking as the phone crunched under his boot. There. Now no one was going to be bothering the doc. In Chicago, John Kohn frowned when his home computer informed him that the GPS signal on Tara’s phone had been lost. _What the fuck? How did **that** happen?_ he silently fumed. She didn’t have the know-how to disable a GPS.  He had offered to teach her and she had turned him down. Angrily, he dialed her number. She had probably asked someone to do it for her, and if that was the case, he was going to make her turn it back on. Sighing, he waited as the phone rang. _What is Tar-Tar doing?_ he wondered. Didn’t she realize that she was just making things worse for herself?

“We’re sorry. The number you are trying to dial is no longer in service.” _What the fuck!? She changed her number **again**?!_ he fumed. What the hell was she thinking!? Didn’t she realize how dangerous that was? Well, it looked like he was going to have to go find her and bring her back to Chicago whether she wanted him to or not. And with his agency’s search into SAMCRO, he had the perfect way to convince her to come home. With that, he went to his closet, pulled out a duffel bag, and then quickly threw a bunch of clothes as well as the files he had accumulated on SAMCRO into it before grabbing his wallet, his gun, and badge, and headed out. He was going to get Tara back if it was the last thing he did…

AUTHOR’S NOTE Yes I’m aware that Hale seems to be flip-flopping on SAMCRO with this “Episode” but he’s not. This is part of a bigger subplot that will be explored later in my rewrite. He still wants to clean up Charming, but like everyone else in town, he has some secrets that he’s keeping close to the vest.


	10. Danger Looming Part 1

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER  
Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX productions.  I only own the new stuff.  I got information on bladder cancer from the Mayo Clinic and if anything’s wrong, I apologize.  And I apologize for the long wait in between chapters.  It takes me a while to write these out because there’s so much.  For the next volume, I promise not to upload anything until the entire thing is finished.

Wayne sat in the chair in the doctor’s office, eyes flickering as he listened to the woman speaking as Janice placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.  
“What do you mean the tumors are high-grade, Dr. Wright?” she queried.   _Hate that we’re here.  Hate that this is happening_ , she thought to herself.  Why Wayne?  Other than looking the other way when it came to the Sons, he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“It means that the cancer’s more advanced than we thought, which means that more aggressive treatment may be necessary and we would have to look at some other options than what was previously discussed,” Dr. Wright told them. _Hate giving out news like this.  It always feels like I’ve failed my patients somehow_ , she mused.   Yes, she knew that it wasn’t true, but it was how she felt.

  
“Okay, so what are my options?” Wayne wondered.

“There’s a few.  We could remove the tumors via surgery, intravesical chemotherapy which targets the tumors on the lining of your bladder, systemic chemotherapy in which we treat the tumors if you don’t want surgery, though this can also get the tumors down enough where you’d be able to have surgery, or radiation therapy which would destroy the cancer cells,” Dr. Wright responded.

  
“Which one would get me back to work the quickest?” Wayne wondered.   _That’s all I want: to get back to work and protect Charming_ , he thought.  Going back to work was all that mattered.  
“I’m sorry, Wayne, but there’s just too many variables with this disease to give you the definitive answer that you’re looking for,” Dr. Wright told him. 

“Fair enough.  Uh, let’s just stick with radiation and chemo for now,” Wayne decided.   _That’ll probably be more comfortable.  Not ready to remove my damn bladder_ , he thought.

“Wayne,” Janice interjected.

“I’m not discounting surgery.  I just…don’t wanna jump to it if there are other options,” Wayne stated and she nodded.  That was fair enough.  Surgery was a pretty big deal and choosing that option was a big step.  She couldn’t really blame him for wanting to avoid it if it was possible.  Meanwhile, Tara moaned as her alarm went off and then got up, got dressed, grabbed her keys and wallet, and then headed for the coffee shop in the green cutlass she had gotten from her father.   _Need a good cup of coffee_ , she thought to herself.  The stuff at St. Thomas was hot, which was one of the few good things she could say about it.  Another good thing she could think of was that it was cheaper than the coffee shop, but she was having a **serious** caffeine craving and she was just going to roll with it.  Moments later, she parked her car in the lot, took her keys and wallet, put them into her purse, and entered the shop, going into the line.  A few moments later, the door opened again and curious despite herself, Tara turned and smiled when she saw David walking up.

“Looks like we had the same idea,” she commented.

“Yeah.  Coffee at the station isn’t exactly, well… **good** ,” he said with a chuckle and she laughed with him.  

“It’s the same at St. Thomas,” she responded.

“I uh…I’m glad I caught you though,” he said even as she was waved forward.

“Hold that thought.”  Tara stepped forward.  “Large black coffee with a chocolate donut please, Sandy,” she requested.

“You got it, Tara,” the other woman responded.  “And your usual, David?” she queried.

“Yes, please,” he answered.  Sandy prepared David’s coffee and then handed the items to the perspective customers.

“Thank you,” they chorused and David pulled out some money, placing it on the counter.

“Hers is on me,” the officer stated.

“David.”

“Please?  As a friend?”

“Of course.”  Tara smiled as Sandra took the money, and then walked out.  “So you were saying…?”

“I put in that call for you.”

“And?”

“The restraining order’s valid.”  Tara nodded.   _Good to know_ , she thought to herself.  

“Thanks.”

“Of course.  Uh…sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.  I found out during the investigation into Tristan’s rape and---”

“That was more important.  She’s a little girl and the threat was bigger.  No worries.”  David smiled at her.

“I uh…better get going.”

“Yeah, me too.”  With that, they both headed out, David to the sheriff’s office and Tara to St. Thomas.  While this was going on, Josh’s eyes flickered as he saw the sign for Charming coming up.   _Finally_ , he thought.  He was finally here and it had only taken a couple of days.   _It’s amazing what commandeering a plane and a rental car will do for you_ , he mused to himself.  Now all he had to do was find Tara, remind her that her life was with him in Chicago, and get her to leave with him.  She was so much better than this one-horse town.  But maybe something was keeping her from him?  Yes, it had to be the ex, this Jax Teller. His files indicated that the man was charming and charismatic and if there was history, who could really blame Tara for losing her head?  Okay, he would just talk it out with her, remind her that Jax was a criminal and that associating with him would ruin her credibility as a doctor.  Yes, once he did that, everything would fall back into place.  They would be Joshy and Tar-Tar again.   _I miss her.  I know we belong together.  I just have to remind her of that_ , he thought.  There had been no need for her to get a restraining order against him or to leave Chicago.  They were meant to be and he was going to remind her of that fact.  She was much better than this Podunk town.  So why had she left Chicago and come back to it?  That’s what he had to find out.  And he **would**.  Everything was going to be okay.  It would all turn out right.  He’d get Tar-Tar back and they’d resume their life in Chicago.  And while he was at it, he could disband Jax’s gang, the Sons Of Anarchy.  Yes, everything was going to be perfect.  He had a plan and his plans **always** worked out for his benefit.  This would be no different.  Smiling, he headed down the road through Charming.  Soon, he would have everything he wanted.  In town, Gemma drove down the road to the Oswald house.   _Just want to see how she’s doing_ , she thought to herself.  She couldn’t believe that she had forgotten about what had happened to Tristan.  But then again, things had been a little different.  Opie and Donna’s kid had gotten sick, the Club had decided not to rebuild the weapons storage…she was off-kilter, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.  When she had convinced the redheaded guide bitch to give them all a second chance, she had figured everything would be the same, meaning that she would have the power to change it, and then Ellie Winston had been brought in with pneumonia.   _So, what else is going to turn out differently?_ she wondered.  She then mentally shook this thought off as she approached the Oswalds’ driveway and parked the car.  Then, she got out and headed for the front door, knocking on it.  Moments later, the door opened to reveal Karen Oswald.

  
“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Wanted to check on you guys.  See how you were holding up,” came the response.  Karen managed a tight smile. 

“We’re holding,” she answered.   _Why is she here?  She’s never taken any interest in us_ , she thought.  

“Look, I know we’ve never really gotten along, but if there’s anything I can do for you or Tristan---”

“There’s nothing,” Karen interrupted.  “Deputy Hale and Chief Unser said the guy pleaded guilty and is going to prison, which means that she doesn’t have to testify,” she continued.  Then, “But thank you.”

“Of course,” Gemma said.   _Oh good.  Last thing the kid needs is to go through more hell_ , she mused.  “If you do anything---”

“We’ll let you know.”  Gemma nodded and went back to her car.   _Well, that was a bust_ , she grumped as she started the car and headed for Teller-Morrow Automotive.  She had just wanted to see how Tristan was doing.  She was trying to be nice.  Why wasn’t it being appreciated?  Wait.  That wasn’t fair.  If the shoe was on the other foot---if it had been Jax who had been hurt---she wouldn’t feel up to letting people near him either.  So really, she couldn’t blame Karen for being protective of Tristan.  While this was going on, Opie had gone to the Clubhouse, his eyes clouding. _This is harder than I thought it’d be_ , he mused.  He wasn’t good at asking for help.  Usually he’d be going on a run to get the money needed for Ellie’s hospital bills, but he knew he couldn’t do that even though Donna had agreed to let him ask the Club for help.  Maybe a fundraiser of some sort.  Yeah, that could work.  He just had to figure things out.  They needed to pay bills and everything was getting close.   _Just don’t wanna let Donna down_ , he thought to himself.  And wouldn’t he be doing that if he turned to the Club, even if she **had** said it was okay?  Well crap, he was confused as hell.   _Wish I knew what to do_ , he mused.  He had to figure this out.  All he knew was that they needed money and he wanted to do things the right way.  But which was the right way?  Supposedly it was what he and Donna had been doing to make ends meet and yet, it just wasn’t working for them, so now he was about to see if the Club would be willing to help them out.   _They’ll help.  I know they will_ , he thought to himself.  Yes, he had been less and less about the Club these days but they were still his friends.  They would understand that he and Donna had needed the adjustment period.  Okay, he couldn’t get paranoid.  The Club would help and everything would be okay.  With a sigh, he walked in.

“Opie!  Haven’t seen you in a while.  How’s Ellie?” Tig queried.

“Resting, getting stronger,” Opie replied.  “Is uh…Clay in?  Got something to ask him,” he stated.  

“What’s up?”

“Well, it’s…really more of a Club issue, I think.”

“Let me go get him.” Opie nodded and sat at one of the benches.  This was good. Everything was going to work out.  Tig’s eyes flickered worriedly as he headed for the room that they used for their meetings.   _Something’s up.  He looks worried_ , he thought.  Had Ellie actually gotten worse?  No, Opie would tell them.  But if not about Ellie, Kenny, or Donna, what would he need to talk to Clay and the rest of the Club about?  At the table, Clay was sitting in his chair, eyes clouded.   _What do we do about the Mayans?_ he wondered.  Those wetback pricks were seriously getting on his nerves.  And now they were trying to screw with their friends?  Yeah, he wasn’t happy about that. _How do I protect them?_ He wondered.  Granted, he and Jury weren’t exactly bosom buddies, but they **were** friends and J.T. had thought a lot of him, so…yeah, there was that.  Okay, he had to figure this out.  Well, there was one way, but he wasn’t sure how well the idea would be received.  Hearing the door open, he turned towards it, watching as the rest of the Club came in.     

“You look serious, what’s up?” Tig noticed.

“Was about to ask you the same thing,” Clay replied.

“Touché,” Tig stated.

“Do you even know what that means?” Opie teased.

“Yes, I’m not a **total** heathen,” Tig shot back.

“All right, knock it off,” Clay interjected.   _Shit, it’s like raising children all over again_ , he thought to himself.  “Come on.  Let’s get down to business,” he said as everyone took their seats.  “First of all, the treasury.  Do we have the money to pay back Laroy even though we haven’t rebuilt?”

“We’re still a little short.  But I’ve got a gig out in Nevada that will cover it,” Bobby replied.

“Speaking of Nevada, I’ve been in touch with Jury from Devil’s Tribe over in Indian Hills.  Word is that the Mayans are trying to edge ‘em out,” Clay responded.

“Why would the Mayans care?  They’re not outlaw,” Juice replied.

“That’s **exactly** why,” Jax stated.  “They see Devil’s Tribe as weak, unthreatening, pushovers,” he continued.   _And I don’t like it.  Jury’s been like an uncle to me and I don’t want anything to happen to him_ , he mused.  But how could they stop the Mayans?  They had no weapons and no charter in Nevada.  Devil’s Tribe was unprotected.  Why hadn’t they thought of this beforehand? How could they screw up like this?

“So how do we protect them?” Juice wondered.

“Could always do a patch over,” Clay responded and the rest of the Club sighed with trepidation. 

“Don’t know, Clay.  Like the kid said, they ain’t outlaw and we’ve always had a good relationship with them because we’ve left them alone regarding that,” Tig reminded.

“I know,” the man stated.  “Look I have no intention of screwing up the good they do there, but from what I’m hearing, they’re not equipped to deal with Alvarez and his bunch of prick wetbacks.  A patch over could give them the edge they need to keep from being overrun,” he continued.  

“Fair enough.  But let me call Jury and give him a heads up.  I owe him that much,” Jax requested.

“Of course,” Clay agreed.   _That’s fair enough.  And like I told Jax, not looking to make waves_ , he thought.  Oh, using Jury’s clubhouse to store their weapons had crossed his mind before, but in the end, it would just cause more harm than good and he didn’t want to do that.  No, as he had promised Gemma he would, he was slowing down and thinking things through.  And it was weird, but hopefully, it would work the way she thought it would.  “What else?” he queried.

“Ope’s got something to say,” Tig responded.  At this, everyone turned to him.

“Ellie all right?” Jax checked.

“Yeah, she’s good.  It’s just…Donna and I---we’re trying but---” Opie began to say.

“Hey, whoa.  Can’t help you with the sex part,” Clay interjected with a smirk, causing the younger man to throw him a dirty look.  “Sorry.  You were saying?”

“We’re not making enough to pay the bills.  We’re trying… **she’s** trying, but...” Opie’s voiced trailed.

“You need help,” Tig finished.

“Yeah.  But at the same time, I don’t wanna just---ignore her wishes,” Opie replied.

“I got a gig in Nevada.  Come with.  I’ll see if I can’t hook you up,” Bobby invited.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah..that’d be great.”  

“And if that donnae work, the town’s got a fund-raiser comin’ up and we can use our proceeds from that to help ye,” Chibs told him.

“Thanks.”  As this was going on, Jax had dialed Jury’s number.

“Hello?” the older man questioned.

“Uncle Jury, it’s Jax,” the Vice-President said.

“Jax, how are ya?”

“Good. Um…Club was talkin’ about your Mayan problem.”

“And?”

“You might not like the solution.”  At this, the other end went silent. “Uncle Jury?”   _Did he hang up on me?_ he wondered.  Not that he would’ve been able to blame him if he had.  After all, he had just inferred that they were thinking of a Patch Over on his club.

“A patch over?”

“Yes.”

“Clay’s idea?”

“He promises he’s not looking to fuck you guys over and that it’ll give you added protection.”

“I’ll have to take it to the Table.”

“I understand.”  Jax was about to say more when he heard the buzz in his ear.  Jury had hung up.   _Shit.  He sounded pissed_ , he thought to himself.

“I’m guessing he didn’t take it well,” Bobby commented seeing the look.

“I think I pissed him off,” Jax responded.   _And I hate that I did that_ , he thought.

“We’ll talk to him when we get there,” Bobby promised.

“Okay,” Jax said. 

“To make it official, let’s take these to a vote,” Clay declared.  “Should we help Opie and Donna with their bills the legal way?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.” 

“Yes.”

“Yes.”  Opie’s eyes flickered and he listened as one-by-one the other club members voted ‘Yes’.   _That’s one less thing to worry about_ , he mused to himself.  Donna would be happy about that.  And that’s all he really wanted---Donna to be happy.  His family meant **everything** to him and he’d do anything to provide for them.

“All in favor of asking Devil’s Tribe to at least **consider** patching over?” Clay queried. “Yay.”

“Yay,” Tig said.

“Aye,” Chibs uttered.

“Yay,” Bobby said.

“Yay,” Opie agreed.

“Yay,” Jax finished.  “Though for the record, I’m hoping we can find another way to help them,” he added.

“Me too,” Clay assured.  He then pounded the gavel. “So motioned.”  With that, everyone parted ways and went to pack for the ride up.  While this was going on, Tara had just finished monitoring Abel’s vitals.   _He’s doing so good.  Getting stronger every day_ , she thought to herself, unable to help the smile that crossed her face.  Jax would be pleased to hear this update.  Jax.  Just thinking about him caused her heart to thump wildly.   _No!  He’s my patient’s father!  I have to be professional!_ she scolded herself.  Besides, there was no way that Gemma would let her anywhere **near** her precious baby boy.  Okay, she wasn’t being fair.  Giving herself a mental shake, she started going about her rounds.  As she did so, she heard one of the elevators go off.   _Wonder who’s here_ , she thought.  Not that this was a rare occurrence.  After all, there were other patients in the ward besides Abel, and various members of the Club had been by to check on Abel.   _He really **is** a lucky kid.  Got a lot of people rooting for him_, she thought, smiling.  Say what you wanted about SAMCRO, but they **did** rally around you in a crisis.   _Maybe I should tell someone in the Club about Josh_ , she thought.  Sure, they could be assholes at times, but back when she and Jax had been dating, they had always been protective of her.  Then again, as an ex, she probably wouldn’t even be a blip on their radar.  Hell, Wendy had been **married** to Jax, and aside from Jax occasionally asking Tara how the rehab was going, the Club didn’t even mention her.  Okay, she couldn’t keep thinking like this, it would drive her nuts.  Focus.  She had to focus.

  
“Tar-Tar?” Hearing the familiar voice, Tara inhaled sharply.  No…it couldn’t be.  He was still in Chicago.  Biting her lip and tensing, she slowly turned around, her eyes widening when she saw the man in front of her.

  
“Josh.”  
 

 


	11. Danger Looming Part 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER  
Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX productions.  I only own the new stuff.

“Hi, Tar-Tar,” Josh greeted again, flashing her a smile.   _She looks really good.  She’s in her element_ , he thought to himself.  She really **was** one hell of a doctor.  Which was why he needed to get her out this town and back to Chicago Presbyterian where she belonged.  She was **much** too good to be wasting her talents in some backwards town that didn’t even appreciate what she could do.

  
“I’m busy,” Tara said.   _What is he doing here?  He’s not supposed to be here!_ her mind screamed.  The restraining order forbade him from following her.  But then again, he was a fucking ATF Agent and probably thought that it didn’t apply to him.  Damn, why had she gotten involved with him?  She had been so stupid!  She would’ve been better off if she had stayed single.  But she hadn’t.  No, she had gotten involved with him even though a part of her had known it was a bad idea at the time.  Why hadn’t she listened to her instincts?  Oh right.  Because he been charming, clean cut, and as different from Jax as possible.  She had been trying to move on from the town and her old love and she had thrown herself into a relationship.  And now she was in **this** fix.  Wonderful.

“Look, I’m not here to cause trouble.  I got sent out here because we got a case.  Looking into a weapons deal brokered by a club called the Sons Of Anarchy,” he stated.  “I just…didn’t want you getting the wrong idea.”   _I want her back.  I need her. I’m so lost without her_ , he thought to himself.

“Okay, fine.  You told me,” she said.   _Now go away_ , she thought to herself.

“You look good, Tar-Tar,” he said with a smile, going to place a hand on hers, stopping when he saw the flinch.   _Why would she be afraid of me?  I love her_ , he thought.

“It’s Tara.”   _Hate when he calls me that.  how did I ever find it cute?_ she wondered.  Oh, right.  She had thought she was in love.  Good thing she had her eyes open now.  Now all she had to do was make sure that he stayed away from her, which was why she had left Chicago and had come home to Charming.  Well…one of the reasons why anyway.  “And I’m busy.”  With that, she began to pass him, only to be stopped as he grabbed her arm. “Let go,” she said, trying to wrench out of his grasp.

“Wait…please…it’s important,” he requested.

“Let me go or I will have you arrested,” she threatened.

“I’m here on business, Tar-Tar, which means that little paper you got out on me is meaningless,” he sneered.   _Really?  She thought a piece of paper would keep us apart?_ he thought to himself.  Not likely.  And once he had her back, he’d make her rescind that silly r.o.  After all, it wasn’t like he had done anything wrong. 

“Let me go,” she ordered again.

“I want you back, Tar-Tar.   We were good once.  We can be good again,” he told her.

“No way in hell,” she said, managing to wrench out of his grasp and she quickly walked away. _Don’t want him here.  Why is he here?_ she wondered.  And what gave him the right to grab her like that?  Damn, it was probably going to bruise.  Wonderful.  Just what she needed.  As the woman hurried off, she was unaware that the man she had just left was still watching her.

  
“Damn it,” he growled softly.  He had scared her.  He hadn’t meant to scare her!  He was just trying to make her see reason!  To make her see that they belonged together!  But why would she be scared of him anyways?  That didn’t make any sense.  Okay, he had gotten a little intense with her, but she just made him so crazy.   _I just want her back home with me where she belongs_ , he thought to himself.  Why couldn’t Tar-Tar see that they belonged together?  It was the biker, it had to be.  Well, he would just stay right here and look after her, see what he was dealing with.  The bikers were all criminals and he was ATF.  He could **easily** take them on. _I’ll get her back.  I’ll just---get her away from the bad influences, remind her again how good we were together, and everything will be fine_ , he thought to himself.  But that would take some planning.  Okay, locals.  He had to talk to the locals.  Nodding once as if he had come to some decision, he walked out of the hospital, went to his car, and headed out.  He would need to speak to the sheriff, whoever it was.  Luckily, this was a small town and the place would be relatively easy to find.  And then he could get some help catching these bastards.  As Tara did her rounds, she tried to keep her body from shaking.  Josh was in Charming.  He knew where she worked.  Okay, she needed to calm down.  Josh hadn’t actually done anything other than grab her a little.  But still…probably wouldn’t hurt to talk to David again, even though he had assured her that the restraining order was still good.   _Worried_ , she thought to herself.  And she didn’t like feeling like this.  She gave herself a mental shake and continued on, heading back to Abel’s room.   _Such a sweet boy_ , she thought to herself.  He really **was** lucky to have such a tough family in his corner. Especially his dad.  Whoa!  No!  Mayday!  Abandon that ship!  She and Jax weren’t any good together.  She knew this.  And yet…Tara shook her head as if it would help to drive out the traitorous thoughts. At his place, Jax had finished packing up.   _Okay, got that shit sorted.  Now to check on Abel_ , he mused.  After making sure he had everything that he needed inside the bike’s seat, he headed out, going straight for St. Thomas, arriving at his destination moments later.  He parked the bike and then walked in, finding his ex in Abel’s room.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey,” she acknowledged, flashing him a grin.   

“You look worried.  Did something happen with Abel?” he questioned worriedly.   _Don’t wanna leave if he’s taken a turn for the worse_ , he thought.  
“No, no.  He’s fine.  Stable,” she quickly assured.   _Shit.  Didn’t mean to scare him_ , she mused.  She had forgotten how good he was at reading her, which was making it hard for her to be around him while dealing with the Josh issue.   _Just wanna tell him and have him take care of it_ , she thought.  But she’d never risk him that way.  Besides, even though he **was** here, it wasn’t like he had her number anymore.  Gemma had taken care of that.  But then again, she had given her his number in case he was needed.  But maybe that was just because of Abel.  Okay, she was losing it.  Never a good sign.  She had to stay in control.  The last thing she wanted was for him to think that she was weak.  She wasn’t weak!  She could handle her own crap, thank you very much.  It was just very tempting to let Jax do it for her.  However, she wasn’t going to fall into that.  No, she’d keep what was going on to herself.  At least…for the time being.  

  
“Good.  That’s good,” he stated.  “Listen uh…Club’s got some business up in Nevada so I’m gonna be gone for a few days,” he continued.

“Who should I contact if something comes up?  Not that it would but…you know, better safe than sorry,” she said.

“My mom can take care of things,” he replied.

“Okay,” she accepted.   _I can work with her as long as she’s willing to be civil_ , she thought.  “Speaking of her, is she okay?  She’s not acting like herself,” she continued.

“Yeah, I know.  She says she’s turning over a new leaf,” he responded.

“Okay then,” she stated.   _Wonder how long it’ll last_ , she mused.  Eh, might as well enjoy it while it did.  

“I better get going.”

“Stay safe.”  The biker flashed the doctor a grin and then walked off.  Meanwhile, Half-Sack had been grabbed by Bobby and Opie.

“Come on, Prospect.  You’re coming with,” the older man declared as Opie talked on the phone.

“Okay,” came the response.  Hell, he wasn’t going to object.  The change of scenery might be fun and it would give him a chance to get to know these guys a bit more.  He followed them and headed out.  Opie’s eyes clouded as they traveled down the road.   _We need this.  Hopefully things will work out_ , he thought to himself.  He just needed to catch a break.  Was that really too much to ask?  However, he was silent as he followed the others down the road.  At her house, Donna sighed.   _Not sure how I feel about him going somewhere with the Club, but he **did** promise that it was legitimate and it’s not like we haven’t tried other options_, she thought.  So really, it wouldn’t be fair of her to complain if whatever he did turned out to be part of Club business given the fact that she had just asked him to ask if they would help them out.  She’d give him this one.  She just wished that she didn’t feel so nervous.

“Mom?” Hearing Kenny’s voice, Donna turned around.

“Yes, Sweetie?” she queried.

“Is Dad gonna be okay?  I mean…he’s not gonna end up in prison again, is he?”

“No, of course not, Sweetie.  Daddy’s just going up to Nevada for a guy thing with the rest of the Club.”

“Okay.”  Even though Donna smiled reassuringly at him, Kenny didn’t look convinced.  And really, who could blame him?  She wasn’t sure she was buying what she had just said either.  After all, it was no secret how she felt about the Club, but for right now, she was willing to trust them to do right.  

“Hey, you got your homework?”  Kenny nodded, holding up his backpack as proof. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”  With that, they headed out to the car, where Donna put the key in the ignition, started, the car, and then drove them to school, stopping long enough to drop the kids off, and then headed out, going to her place of employment. _Be careful and safe, my love_ , she thought to herself.  The last thing she wanted was for Opie to get hurt or arrested again.  If either one happened, she wasn’t really sure what she would do.  Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to find out.  She then gave herself a mental shake and went to work.  Everything would be okay.  Ellie was home, Opie was making honest money, and they would catch up. She just needed to focus.  Besides, it wasn’t like she could talk to a lot of people about this.  While this was going on, Gemma was finishing up paperwork at Teller-Morrow.   _Clay’s going to be gone again.  This is around the time he hooked up with that young crow eater tart_ , she worried.  And it was hot.  Why was it so hot?  Oh, right.  This was around the time she had started menopause.  Terrific.  Okay, she didn’t really have to worry.  The Crow Eater had fallen for Half-Sack.  She blew out a breath and pushed the papers away.   _Shit, I can’t think_ , she mused.   The boys were probably already on their way to Neva, and she wasn’t really sure what she should do.  Would things be the same for them this time around?  Would Clay still fuck that tart Crow Eater?  A lot of things had been the same, but a couple of things had been different, which meant that there wasn’t really a guarantee that things would happen the same way they had before.  Ugh.  She needed to stop thinking about this.  Maybe she could talk to Tara.  Yeah, that sounded good.  Hell, it beat hanging around here moping about what **might** happen.  Squaring her shoulders, Gemma put the paperwork aside, putting it in the file she had for holding papers until she could get to them, and then stood up, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door, going to her car, putting the keys into the ignition, starting the car, and then heading to the hospital.  Hopefully, she wouldn’t be interrupting anything.  Not that she really cared, to be honest, but she would at least pretend that she did.  And besides, she liked to check on Abel, so it wasn’t like anyone would think it was strange that she was there again, especially with Jax and Clay leaving for Nevada.  Once she was at St. Thomas, she parked the car, put her keys in her purse and then walked into the hospital, heading towards Abel’s incubator.   _So little_ , she thought to himself.  She hated seeing him like this again.  Yes, she knew that he’d be okay, but it was still hard. 

“I know it doesn’t look like it but he’s getting stronger every day.”  At Tara’s words, Gemma turned to look at her.

“Yeah?” she queried.

“Yeah,” the doctor confirmed.

“He’s a fighter.  Just like his father.”

“Yeah.”  Tara’s eyes flickered.   _What do I say here?_ she wondered.  She wasn’t really sure how to proceed.

“Yeah.”  For a moment, both women were silent.  “Tara…thank you.  For working as hard as you are for Abel.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you being so nice to me?  You hate me.”  Gemma sighed.   _Of course she’d be suspicious.  I was a bitch to her the first time around_ , she realized.  Not that the doctor would remember that.  No, for her, this was all new.  She had no idea what was in store for herself or the others anymore than the Club did.  And if Gemma had her way, they would all stay alive.

“This crap with Abel’s made me stop and think about my life.  What I’ve done, choices I’ve made. And I keep---I keep trying to remember when I last saw Jax happy.  And it was when he was with you.  You made him happy.  And I want him to be happy.”  Tara nodded.   _It makes sense_ , she mused.  And if it made the older woman tolerable, why not go with it for however long it lasted?  

“He uh…said that he was going up to Nevada.  Some Club business?” Tara said, a question creeping into her voice.

“Yes.  I wouldn’t worry about it, though.  It’s just a precaution,” Gemma responded and Tara nodded.  Whatever it was, she didn’t want to know.  Right now, the less she knew about what Jax’s Club was doing, the better.  Not that she would ever tell Josh, but she didn’t want him pestering her about things.  While all of this was going on, Clay, Jax Bobby, Opie, Tig, and Half Sack had stopped at a convenience store a few states away to get food.  

“So what’s the gig?” Opie questioned as he picked out some food.

“Elvis booking.  I know it’s not your thing but we can easily swing a duet,” Bobby replied, doing the same.

“And that won’t put you out for your own bills?  I mean, you got three ex-wives and some kids of your own,” Opie checked.   _Don’t wanna screw things up for him_ , he thought to himself.

“No, I’m good.  Wife number two married some rich lawyer and decided she didn’t want my money anymore and wife number three’s alimony got cut when a new boyfriend helped me prove that she wasn’t spending the money I sent to her on the kids but on booze and drugs,” Bobby answered.

“Sucks for her,” Opie smirked.

“Yup,” Bobby confirmed.   _I got really lucky with that_ , he mused.  He wasn’t sure why he had gotten so lucky, but he wasn’t going to do anything to fuck it up.  No, his alimony was **finally** manageable and if Precious needed more, he would get it for her.  But as of right now, she seemed to be getting along pretty well, and really, that was all that mattered to him.  Jax walked into the convenience store and looked around.  What did he want?  Something quick but also filling.  Maybe a sandwich.  And something for Abel.  Abel.  Jax couldn’t help the smile that came across his face. He had only been a father for a few weeks but already it felt like the most important thing the world.  Not even the Club could compare to it.  The Club.  What was he going to do about it?  According to the letters from his dad, they had gone down the wrong path and Clay was at the center of it.  Could he be persuaded to change direction?  After all, Mom had his ear and she had been willing to listen to him when he mentioned some of the things he was wondering about.  He just---he didn’t know, to be honest.  He gave himself a mental shake and went to get some food.  Once everyone had everything they wanted, they walked outside and Jax quirked a brow when he saw a girl trying to pull her boyfriend off of his bike.

“Hey, check out this asshole,” he commented, gesturing to the couple. _Who the fuck does he think is, sitting on my bike?_ he fumed.  Was this guy stupid, or did he just have a death wish?   **Everyone** knew that you didn’t just randomly sit on a bike that wasn’t yours as it was a surefire way to get yourself killed.

“I’m serious!  Whoever this guy is, he’s probably gonna be pissed that you’re sitting on his bike!” she warned.  For an answer, the boy backhanded her.

“Hey!  Asshole!  What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jax called as he and the others approached them, causing the girl to gasp and step back.

“Shit!  I—I told him not to sit on your bike,” she stammered.  

“I know, I heard,” he reassured.   _More pissed at this guy for hitting her_ , he mused.  While he and the others weren’t saints, they didn’t go after women and children.  Who did this asshole think he was, raising a hand to his girlfriend?

“Stay outta this.  This don’t concern you,” the boy sneered.  It was a lovers’ spat and he didn’t need a bunch of bikers telling him how to handle his woman.

“Kinda does since you’re sitting on my bike,” Jax drawled.  Then, without warning, he pushed the other boy off of his bike, causing him to moan when he hit the ground.  Ignoring him, Jax turned to the girl. “What’s your name, darlin’?”

“Susie.”

“I’m Jax. Where you headed?”

“Nowhere special.”

“Me too.”  She smiled as the blonde-haired biker patted the seat behind him and got onto the bike, the smile growing as he handed her his helmet.  Then, she wrapped her arms around him and took everything in with a smile, relishing the feel of the wind ruffling her clothes as they headed down the road.    

 


	12. Danger Looming Part 3

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX Productions. I only own the new stuff.

Hours later---though it seemed like mere moments for Susie---the Sons Of Anarchy stopped in front of a clubhouse, parked their bikes, and headed in. Jax turned to Susie.

“How’s the lip?” he checked.

“Hurts again. Think I need another ice pack,” she replied. _Can’t believe he and the others have been so nice to me_ , she thought to herself. “Jackie Boy!” a man called and Jax grinned as the man approached them. “Uncle Jury!” he exclaimed as the two men hugged.

“Good to see you, Boy,” the older man stated.

“You too,” came the response. “Hey, you guys got an ice pack we can borrow? Susie here had some trouble with her asshole ex-boyfriend.” Jury nodded.

“Cherry! Come here a sec!” At this, the girl behind the bar came over.

“What can I do for you, Jury?” she queried.

“She needs help getting cleaned up,” Jury replied, gesturing to Susie. Cherry’s eyes clouded in concern when she saw the split lip. _Who the hell hurt her?_ she wondered. And how had the Sons gotten involved? Wait. Not her business. She had just been asked to help the other girl get cleaned up, not stick her nose into the Club’s business.

“Okay, honey, follow me,” she said, taking Susie’s wrist. She then took her to the bathroom without giving her a chance to respond, unaware that Half-Sack watched the interaction. _Damn, Cherry's hot_ , he thought to himself. But she probably wouldn't go for him. After all, he was only a Prospect and it wasn't like he could have any woman he wanted. And hell, besides, who would want a guy who only had one nut? Not many, that was for damn sure. But he couldn't help how he felt. Yes, he was quite aware that the attraction was only physical, but he didn't care. He just wanted her. He wanted to get to know her, to...make love to her. Yeah, he had it bad. He could admit that to himself at least. Now he just had to figure out what he was going to do. In the bathroom, Cherry smiled at Susie as she tended to her wound.

“So, how long have you known Jax?” she questioned. “Just met him today, actually,” Susie replied.

“My boyfriend---well, **ex** -boyfriend now---was trying to sit on his bike and when I went to stop him, he hit me,” she exclaimed.

“Bastard,” Cherry spat out. _Hate fuckers like that_ , she fumed.

“Yeah, well, Jax hit him back and then brought me here,” Susie continued and Cherry nodded.

“Well you’re safe here,” she told her. _Not going to let anything happen to her on my watch_ , she thought to herself. While this was going on, Jax and Jury were catching up.

“So, you’re saying you found some old letters from J.T.?” Jury queried.

“Yeah,” Jax confirmed. “And your mother knows?” Jury checked.

“Yup,” Jax confirmed again.

“How’d she take it?” Jury queried.

“Surprisingly well. She actually told me that his original plan for the Club hadn’t been the outlaw route,” Jax responded.

“That’s true,” Jury told him. “Listen, I get that Gemma’s your mom and all, but she has **always** been all about the Club. Just…be careful,” he continued.

“I will,” Jax promised. “Believe me, I get it. I was worried about the same thing,” he added. _Still surprised she told me the truth about JT not wanting to go outlaw_ , he mused. Maybe he could use the information to convince Clay and the others to change things up. He would just…have to play his cards right. If he sounded like he was tired of the Club or that he was disrespecting it, he would most likely be booted out and that wasn’t what he wanted. He just wanted to see if he could turn things around to what his biological father had envisioned.

“Well, I guess we’ll see how things play out,” Jury commented as if reading his thoughts.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Jax agreed. _Not sure how I feel about that, but it’s not like I can do anything about it_ , he mused. Besides, he had to have faith that his mother wouldn’t go off the deep end. Yeah…that was probably asking a lot.

“Now then…about what we talked about…” Jury began to say and Jax looked at him. “We took it to a vote right after your call. Tell Clay we’re in. Whenever he’s ready,” he continued.

“No time like the present,” Jax stated and the older man nodded and they went to find the man. _Hopefully this won’t come back to bite us in the ass_ , the younger man mused. He **really** didn’t want things going South for Devil’s Tribe. But so far, things seemed to be okay. And hopefully, they would continue this way. But to be honest, he wouldn’t be really surprised if it went South as his luck had always been shit. But then again, things had started looking a little better with Tara back in town. Tara. She could still make his heart race. And his mom was actually being halfway decent to her, so that was something at least. Okay, he had to stop thinking like this. Tara wasn’t important right now. No, Abel was the most important thing right now. He couldn’t worry about whether or not his mother liked his ex-girlfriend. As the other members milled about, Half Sack did the same, his eyes locked onto the girl helping clean up the girl who had ridden in with Jax. _That girl’s cute_ , he thought to himself. And her name was Cherry. Damn, he wanted her so bad. Seeing the younger man staring, Chibs smirked. _Looks like the Prospect has his eye on someone_ , he thought to himself. And the girl wasn’t half-bad to look at it either. Across the room, one of the members of the Devil’s Tribe was also staring at the two.

“Looking at Cherry, Needles?” the Vice President, Mickey Roberts, asked him, giving him a smirk. “Gonna hook up with her again?” he wondered.

“Naw, I think Cherry and the SAMCRO Prospect have a hard on for one another. I was looking more at the babe she’s been fixing up,” Robert Parker---who was also known as Needles---replied.

“She’s a hot piece of ass,” Mickey allowed. _Not really my type thoug_ h, he mused.

“Yeah she is,” Needles agreed. “Think she’d agree to be my Old Lady?”

“Kinda fast but not surprising with you.” Seeing the stares, Cherry chuckled.

“What?” Susie queried.

“We’re being stared at,” Cherry replied. Susie followed her gaze.

“They look at us like we’re pieces of meat,” she commented.

“You get used to it,” the other woman said.

“I don’t think I could,” came the confession. “I mean…not to sound ungrateful since those bikers helped me out but…”

“Yeah, about that…why was your boyfriend trying to sit on Jax’s bike anyway?” Susie sighed.

“He’s always been into bikes and he recently got it into his head that he wants to join an MC and I guess seeing a bike that was decked out for one was too much for him to resist.”

“And he thought…what? You would just be his Old Lady when he joined?”

“I…guess. I just figured it was one of his whims and played along. Always been safer that way.”

“So, him hitting you was a regular thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Well he ain’t a real man.” Susie smiled.

“I think I could like it here. Everyone seems friendly.”

“They **are** , but there’s some things you need to know so just stick close to me, Baby Doll.” At this, Susie nodded and followed Cherry who joined the guys. She wasn’t quite sure what dwas going on, but she had a feeling that she should listen. The two girls watched as the Devil’s Tribe took off the kuttes and removed their patches.

“What’s going on?” Susie whispered.

“I think they’re patching over,” Cherry replied as her stomach clenched. What did this mean for her? Would she have to prove herself as a sweet butt all over again? Damn, she hoped not. No! She couldn’t think this way. She had been a sweet butt for a couple of years and everyone knew her. Hell, she was at the top of the pecking order, which meant that she could have first pick at any guy she wanted. And she wanted that Prospect. Her eyes flickered as she watched them change the kuttes. _That explains the meeting earlier_ , she mused.

“All right! Patch over party!” someone yelled and Cherry immediately went to get drinks for everyone with Susie in tow. When they got to Needles, Susie smiled.

“Hi,” she greeted, unable to keep the flirtatious tone out of her voice.

“Hi,” he greeted back.

“I’m Needles,” he introduced himself.

“Needles?” Susie repeated.

“I’m the tattoo artist,” Needles explained.

“Oh,” she said.

“You wanna go somewhere quiet and talk?”

“Oh, I shouldn’t. I mean---I should help.”

“Don’t worry about it, Baby Doll. We got plenty of hands.”

“You sure?”

“Go! Have fun!” Susie smiled and then followed Needles who went outside.

“There. Now we can hear ourselves talk,” he said with a smile. “Tell me about yourself,” he encouraged.

“Well uh…I grew up in a small town, hated it, and got together with Andrew, which turned out to be a mistake,” she answered.

“Well at least you’re away from him now,” he said. _And if I ever met this guy, I’d kill him_ , he thought to himself. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was women being hurt.

“So how about you?” she queried.

“Grew up in here in Indian Hills. Dad was an abusive jackass and my mom was a saint who put up with it until she saved up enough money to get us out,” he responded.

“I’m sorry. I---I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” He smiled and took her hands, squeezing them gently.

“You didn’t. Promise.”

“Good.” Susie smiled at him. This was nice. She hadn’t ever talked at a party before. Andrew usually made her dance or have sex. Sometimes both. But this guy---this biker---was sitting here talking to her while all of his buddies were partying and probably hooking up. But damn, he was hot. _Aw, screw it_ , she thought and with that, she leaned up, her lips puckered.

“You sure? You were just hurt.”

“So make me feel better.” Their lips crashed together and Needles lifted Susie into his arms. The girl moaned and rubbed her body against his and he turned and put her up against the wall, nudging her legs apart with his knee, causing the girl to moan as he rubbed up on her. Inside the clubhouse, Cherry was tending to the guys who were drinking.

“Fill you back up, Jury?” she asked, holding up a pitcher of beer.

“Sure. And then you can take a break,” he replied. She smiled as she poured the beer and then topped off the rest of the guys around him, ever mindful of Half-Sack’s stare. _Damn he looks good_ , she thought to herself. She wanted him; she could admit that. So he was just a Prospect, who cared? She was just a sweet butt. She gave herself a mental shake and then did a quick check to make sure everyone was satisfied with their food and drinks before going over to Half-Sack.

“I’m Cherry,” she introduced herself with a grin.

“Half-Sack.”

“Why do they call you that?”

“I lost my left nut in Iraq.”

“Can you, uh….?”

“Yes.” Cherry’s grin grew and she pulled him away.

“Whoo! Prospect!”

“Go get her, Tiger!” For an answer, Half-Sack threw the other men the bird, causing them to laugh. Once they had found an empty room, they went in, locked the door behind them, and he pulled her close, kissing her while yanking her shirt off even as she fumbled with his jeans.

“Will you be able to feel anything?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She then pulled his jeans and boxers down and gently began to massage the sac. Half-Sack moaned and began peppering her body with kisses, causing Cherry to moan as well. While this was going on, Opie and Bobby had driven to a resort.

“So, this is a regular gig for you then?” Opie queried.

“Yeah, and it pays pretty good,” Bobby responded. “Relax. You’ll be fine. I’ve heard you sing and you’re not as bad as you think,” he continued, causing the other man to chuckle. _Okay, I got this_ , the younger man thought to himself. Singing wasn’t really his favorite thing to do in the world but it would help pay for Ella’s bills so he wasn’t going to complain. Bobby walked in, headed to where a man was waiting, and smiled.

“Bobby,” the man greeted. “Who’s this?” he wondered.

“Accompaniment,” came the response and the man nodded. He wasn’t going to argue with the guy as he was one of his best performers. “Everything set up for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Great.” With that, Opie followed Bobby into a dressing room.

“Uh, Bobby, there is one little problem. No costume in my size.” “I’ve had accompaniment before from guys in different sizes. There should be something there we can make work. And if not, we’ll just wing it.” Opie nodded and started looking. Moments later---as Bobby stated---he managed to find an outfit in his size and put it on. Then, they went onto the stage and started the performance. Back in Charming, Tara headed for the cafeteria in St. Thomas. _Need a break_ , she thought to herself. She loved working with Abel of course, but right now, she just needed to decompress. Seeing him and other babies in their incubators was just so hard. At least in a few hours she’d be able to go home. _Not sure if I can handle the NICU_ , she thought to herself as she got into line to get food. But for now, she would do her job to the best of her abilities and do everything she could for Abel. Without putting too much thought into it, she chose the food she wanted and then went to one of the tables. _Ah, bliss_ , she thought to herself. She just needed a little time to herself so she could mentally recharge before checking in on Abel and her other patients. She speared a piece of the food with her fork and then placed it in her mouth chewing. Hearing footsteps approaching her table, she smiled. Maybe David had stopped by. Or maybe it was Jax. Maybe his business in Nevada hadn’t taken as long as he thought it would and they had been able to come back. Yeah, okay, wishful thinking on her part, she knew this. As her smile grew, she turned and---then froze.

“Josh,” she said, her body going rigid. What was he doing here? _I don’t want you here! Go away!_ she screamed silently. However, she couldn’t voice this out loud. After all, it wouldn’t do her any good to cause a scene. No, all it would do would be to cause Charming’s gossip chain go into overdrive and she was **not** about to let **that** happen, thank you very much.

“We need to talk, Tar-Tar,” he told her. “I saw that that the Sons left for Nevada. I thought about trailing them to see what they’re up to, but I decided to see what you could tell me about them first. After all, it’s like I always say, the best recon comes from going to the source,” he said, giving her a smile.

“It’s Tara,” she corrected, trying not to gag at the bile that rose in her throat at the nickname. She had thought it was cute once, but now she just wanted to puke. “And all I know about the Sons is that they’re a motorcycle club,” she responded.

“Why did you leave me? Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?” he queried, ignoring her interjection.

“Speaking of leaving, you need to do that. **Now** ,” Tara said in a soft but firm tone. While she wasn’t going to make a scene, she wasn’t about to let this bastard walk all over her.

“You’re right. This isn’t the time or place. No need to air our dirty laundry for all to see,” he agreed. “Now then, about the Sons Of Anarchy…” he prompted as he stepped closer.

“As I stated, they’re a motorcycle Club,” they’re a motorcycle club. Don’t ask me about them again,” she responded. _Away. I need to get away_ , she realized and she quickly got up, quickly turning and walking away, the man following her.

“Get back here!” the agent snapped, grabbing her hair and yanking her back, causing her to give a frightened yelp as several people gasped and stood up. Should they interfere? They didn’t know this guy who was bothering doctor Knowles, but at the same time, it wasn’t like he was a member of the Sons Of Anarchy who were pretty easy to read. Well…usually…maybe they should wait to see how it played out. After all, it was looking like a lovers’ spat and it never boded well for a person who interrupted something like that.

“Josh,” she managed to gasp. The sound seemed to deflate him and he quickly let go of her hair and turned her around so that they were facing.

“I’m sorry, Tar-Tar. I didn’t mean to hurt or frighten you,” he murmured in a soothing tone. “It’s just…I get into…so much pain when I’m around you because I love you so much,” he continued as placed his hands on her arms, caressing them.

“Just---just go…please,” she stammered, trying to step out of the touch only for him to tighten his grip. _So much for being brave around him_ , she thought to herself. She **hated** the way she got so frightened of him, but she couldn’t help it. He was scary when he got like this. How had she had ever thought that she had loved him?

“I can’t do that. Not just yet. Now, please, Tar-Tar, give me another chance. I need you. And I know you need me,” he said.

“Josh,” she stated, trying to squirm out of his grasp. He kissed her and her struggle increased. Unable to get out of his grip, Tara did the only thing she could think of: she bit him. With a cry of pain, he pulled back, his tongue tasting the coppery tinge of blood. His eyes darkened.

“You little bitch,” he growled shoving her, causing her to stumble back, though she managed to catch herself.

“Is there a problem here, Dr. Knowles?” a voice asked as one of the doctors walked up, stopping to stand beside her.

“No, Mark. He was just leaving,” she responded, giving her ex a pointed look.

“Fine. I’ll go,” he said and then headed out.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mark questioned.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Tara assured and then headed back in, Mark shadowing her. _Can’t believe Josh is doing this! What is wrong with him?_ Tara wondered. And should she tell someone? With the shove, Josh had proved that he was escalating. But who could she trust? No! She couldn’t worry about this! She was at her job and she was just going to focus on **that**. Squaring her shoulders, she headed back into the NICU and went to check on her patients. She wasn’t going to worry about what was going on with Josh. She was just going to continue what she was doing and just focus on the babies in her care. She then smiled at the incubators. _They’re all amazing_ , she thought to herself. They were so strong---such fighters. They amazed her every day. While this was going on, Josh was sitting in his car, fingers gripped tightly around his steering wheel. She had refused to come with him. _What the fuck was that? She turned me down. She never turns me down_ , he thought. It was this town---it was clouding her thinking, it had to be. It was already drawing her in. Okay, think. He had to think. He had to convince her that she would be better off back in Chicago, but how? _I need to make her realize she’s not safe here. Remind her that there was a reason she had left_ , he mused. But how? Wait. Yes. He had it. Smirking, he walked to where he had seen her car, pulled a small knife from his jeans pocket and slashed it into the green cutlass. She was wanting to stay here? Fine. He’d show her why it was a bad idea. His smirk grew as he dragged the knife across the car and then jammed the knife into the front and back tires. Then, he closed the knife, pocketed it, and walked off. She would never know that it was him, but just think that she had been the victim of vandalism. After all, this town was in the clutches of a motorcycle gang and it was only logical that they would desecrate the property of a respectable doctor. Once Tara saw this, she would realize her mistake and come back to him. And he of course, would welcome her with open arms. The only thing left to do now was wait…


	13. Danger Looming Part 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE/DISCLAIMER Belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX Productions. I only own the new stuff.

Hours later, Tara changed out of her work clothes, signed out at the front desk, and then sighed as she headed to the parking lot. _Just want to go home and sleep_ , she thought to herself. She loved her job but sometimes it could be tiring and soul-crushing. That didn’t mean it wasn’t worth it though. She **loved** her job. At the moment though, she just wanted to go home and crash in her bed. She took out her keys as she headed to her car. Then, she stopped and gasped, staring at the deep scratches on the side of the cutlass. _What the hell?_ she thought. This was **not** good. _No one in town would do this and Josh was pretty pissed when I told him to leave me alone_ , she worried. Okay. She wasn’t going to touch anything. She just---she just needed to get out of here. As she tried to keep her hands from trembling, she pulled the phone she had gotten from Gemma out of her pocket and went to her number, pressing the “call” button.

“Hello?” the older woman queried a few moments later.

“Hey, Gemma. Sorry to bother you, but I need a ride from the hospital. My car’s…out of commission. I’ll explain when you get here,” Tara stated.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Gemma promised. _Out of commission? What does **that** mean?_ she wondered. What had happened to Tara’s car? That didn’t make any sense. Well, she wasn’t going to get answers just sitting around the garage. Letting out a sigh, Gemma grabbed her purse, headed out to her car, got into the vehicle, put the keys in the ignition, and then headed for St. Thomas. Something was up, though she wasn’t quite sure what. It was something bad though, she could feel it. Well, whatever it was, she wasn’t going to let Tara go through it alone. _Wow. I’m actually caring about the little bitch_ , she thought to herself, shaking her head. But then again, she knew how Jax felt about the woman, so maybe **that** was affecting her in this timeline, especially since she knew that they had to end up together for everything to turn out okay. Okay, Tara. Focus on Tara. She needed her. She had turned to her. She had never done that in the other timeline. Probably because she hadn’t trusted her and had tried to push her away from Jax so that he would remain all about the Club. And yet, now, she was turning to her. _Maybe I won’t have to work so hard to keep her and the boys here after all_ , she thought to herself. If she got Tara wanting to stay, the Club wouldn’t have to change at all and she could be the Queen again. Yeah, that sounded good. No! She couldn’t risk screwing this up. According to the redheaded guide bitch, SAMCRO was supposed to go legit. Tara staying and them going legit was apparently the only way to save Jax and the rest of them. _Okay, I can do that_ , she mused. Moments later, she arrived at the hospital’s parking lot and headed to Tara’s car, her eyes widening when she saw the damage.

“Holy shit,” she said. _No wonder she sounded freaked on the phone_ , she thought to herself. Whoever had done this to the cutlass had been **pissed**. Hell, **she** would’ve been freaked if their positions had been reversed.

“Yeah,” came the tight response.

“Get in the car, baby.” Tara did so and without waiting for an okay by the doctor, Gemma went to her own car, popped the trunk, pulled some chains out and then hooked it up to her own car. Once she was done, she drove it to Teller-Morrow. “I’ll have the guys take a look at it once they get back from Indian Hills,” the Biker Queen promised as she parked.

“Thank you,” the younger woman responded. _Can’t believe she’s actually helping me_ , she thought to herself as she got out of the car. The last time they had interacted with each other---before she came back to Charming---was when she was leaving Gemma had basically told her that if she came back that she’d have to watch her back. But now she had seemed to have forgotten that threat.

“Of course,” the woman said. Then, “So what’s going on? I really doubt that you were randomly targeted by a bunch of assholes with something against classic cutlasses.” Tara sighed.

“It was most likely my ex, Josh Kohn,” she admitted.

“What’s his deal?” the older woman asked and the younger woman sighed.

“I started dating him during my residency in Chicago. I was---I was attracted to him because he seemed to be what I was looking for---a solid guy who was on the right side of the law, no MC ties. I was wrong,” she replied.

“Was he a lawyer or a cop?”

“ATF.”

“Shit.” _No wonder she decided to get a burner_ , the woman thought to herself. Not that she could really blame her. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was pretty high up the food chain in law enforcement which would allow him to track her in ways a regular cop probably couldn’t.

“He got…..really intense. And it scared me so I broke it off with him. He didn’t react well.”

“He hurt you?”

“I got a restraining order before he could.”

“We both know that a piece of paper doesn’t really do shit against someone.” Gemma blew out a breath. What was she supposed to do with this? “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I didn’t want to bother anyone and---”

“You should tell Jax.” “Oh, no. He’s---he’s got enough to worry about with Abel and the Club and---”

“He would want to know.” Knowing Jax, he would go apeshit if he found out that Tara was being harassed. _Wonder if it was this bad for her the first time around_ , Gemma mused. If so, she couldn’t really blame her for wanting to sweep it under the rug. However, she wasn’t going to let her do that. No, she’d do everything she could to protect her. And wasn’t **that** a kick in the ass? Last time around, she was doing everything in her power to chase her off and now she was taking her under her wing. But if it led to the future with everyone being happy, she’d do it. She just wanted a good future for her and her boys. Especially for Jax and the kids.

“Maybe after he gets back. If things have gone well.”

“Why don’t you go rest in his room and I’ll stop by your place and get you a change of clothes if you want to stay the night.”

“That’d be great, thanks.”

“It’s the last room on the right at the end of the hall.”

“Thanks.” Gemma smiled as Tara headed for the room. While this was going on, at the Indian Hills headquarters, some of the Club members---including Jax, and Opie and Bobby who had returned from the Elvis gig---were standing guard. _Not gonna let anything happen to these guys_ , Jax thought to himself. No, he was going to make sure that they all stayed safe. And Jury had indicated worry that the Mayans would try for a sneak attack, so here they were. But it was getting boring. He had stayed up for hours and yet…the sound of motorcycles caught his attention and he elbowed Tig.

“Wake up, assholes. Here we go,” the Vice President barked and immediately, everyone was on their feet just as shots rang out, causing the Sons to scatter in an effort to dodge the bullets.

“Well, so much for the surprise advantage,” Jax muttered as he began firing back. Members of the Mayans MC let out cries of surprise as the bullets came. _Holy shit. I thought we had the advantage_ , Marcus Alvarez thought to himself as he returned fire, ignoring the cries of pain from the other members. Apparently, he had underestimated this MC, and that wasn’t a mistake he would make again. The MC leader’s eyes flashed with anger as he and the other members of the Mayans continued to fire. In Needles’ room, Susie jerked awake at the sound. What was going on? What was happening. Beside her, Needles also awoke. _Shit!_ he thought as he reached over to his drawer, opening it and grabbing his gun, uncocking the safety.

“What’s happening?” Susie asked. _Why are we being shot at?_ she wondered. What had happened?

“Stay here. I’ll be back soon,” he promised, giving her a kiss before quickly pulling some jeans on and rushing out, joining the others who were firing on their attackers. Shaking, Susie got out of the bed, pulling the sheets with her as she huddled in a corner, trying to make herself as small as possible. _I don’t want him to die_ , she thought to herself. Sure, they had just met, but there was something about him that called to her. He made her feel special. Out front, Half-Sack’s eyes were determined as he also fired on the other MC. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to these guys. They had taken him in after his parents had thrown him out for signing up to fight. They had become his family and if died here tonight protecting them, so be it. After a few moments, Marcus’ gun made a clicking noise. _Damn, I’m out_ , he realized.

“Retroceder!” the man shouted and immediately, he and the rest of his MC retreated.

“Anyone hit?” Clay asked, turning to the others.

“I’m good,” Tig and Chibs responded together.

“Jax. Where’s Jax?” Clay demanded, looking around frantically. _If he’s been hurt, I’ll never forgive myself_ , he thought to himself. Not to mention that **Gemma** would never forgive him if anything happened to the kid.

“I’m okay,” Jax assured. “I’m not hit,” he continued.

“Jury. You and your guys okay?” Clay checked.

“Needles got hit in the shoulder,” Jury reported and Chibs went to check on him.

“Those bastards killed Rictor,” Needles spat out as Chibs continued to dress the wound.

“I’m sorry,” Clay said. “We came here to prevent something like that and that didn’t happen. Didn’t mean to let you down, brother.”

“Clay…it would’ve been a hell of a lot worse without you here,” the other man disagreed. Then, “How’s the shoulder?”

“He’ll live.”

“Thanks.”

“Aye.” As Clay and Jury talked, making plans for the protection of Indian Hills in the future, Needles went back to his room where he found Susie in the corner.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You’re okay,” he soothed, kneeling in front of her. _Hate that I scared her. She’ll probably leave now_ , he moped. He liked her and he didn’t want to lose her before he had a chance to get to know her.

“You’re hurt,” Susie noted, her eyes widening when she saw the bandage.

“I’m okay. Just a scratch,” Needles assured.

“Are you sure?” Susie asked.

“Yes,” Needle assured again and Susie pulled him close.

“I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you,” she said softly. Then, she leaned up and kissed him on the lips, causing the man to moan in longing. After a few minutes, he pulled back.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she told him. Then, she kissed him again and he moaned, deepening the kiss. Cherry glanced at Half-Sack.

“You sure you’re okay? You’re not hit, are you?” she worried.

“Amazingly, I’m not hit,” he responded.

“Good,” she said, giving him a quick kiss and he moaned, leaning in her touch as she ran her fingers through his hair. _She makes me feel whole. Like it doesn’t matter that I’m missing a nut_ , he thought to himself. He hadn’t thought that someone would ever see him like that again. But Cherry did. How had he gotten so lucky? It didn’t make any sense that he would get so lucky. _Damn, he’s amazing_ , she thought to herself. The Prospect was one hell of a man and he was the only one she wanted.

“Okay, boys. Let’s head back,” Clay announced and Half-Sack groaned in disappointment.

“I gotta---” he started to say.

“Yeah, of course. Go,” she encouraged. “Just let me give you my number,” she requested.

“I’d like that,” he said and Cherry quickly went to the bar, grabbed the pencil and pad she used for when she needed to write stuff down, wrote her number on a piece of paper, ripped it off the pad, and then walked back to the Half-Sack.

“Ball’s in your court,” she told him, giving him the paper. For an answer, he took the pad and pencil, wrote something down, tore the page out, and gave it to her.

“And now you have **my** number,” he stated. At this, Cherry’s lips curved into a grin. He had given her his number! He was interested in her!

“Okay, Casanova. Let’s go,” Jax chuckled. _Ahh…young love_ , he thought to himself. He and Tara had been like that once. Tara. Yeah…he needed to stop thinking about her.

“Jury. We’ll keep in touch,” Clay declared.

“Definitely,” Jury agreed. With that, the MC all got on their bikes and headed out. Meanwhile, back in Charming, Josh was in the hotel room he had rented, pouring over the files he had gathered on the Sons Of Anarchy Club. _I’ve got enough here to justify my presence here to my superiors_ , he thought in satisfaction. And he was going to take them down. Getting rid of this gang was the key to getting Tar-Tar out of this shithole town. Tara. Damn, he loved her. Just the thought of her made him ache with desire. He went to his computer files, opened up one of the documents, and smiled at the pictures, clicking on them and staring at them longingly for a bit before going to the next one. _I love her so fucking much_ , he mused. Tara was his life, which was why he hadn’t deleted any of the pictures he had taken of her. They reminded him of his goal and the fact that he needed to be better for her. And he **would** be. He would show her just how much they were meant to be. On the bed in Jax’s room, Tara jerked awake with a small cry, shuddering as the remnants of the dream faded from her memory. _He can’t get me. I’m safe. He doesn’t know about the Clubhouse. He doesn’t know where I am. He won’t find me_ , she assured herself. She would just have to remember that, and hopefully, the dreams of Josh finding, hurting, and killing her would stop. Outside of the Clubhouse, Gemma and Luanne were waiting for the bikers.

“So uh…I noticed that the doctor that’s been taking care of Abel has been here ever since her shift ended. What’s up with that?” Luanne queried.

“Someone fucked her car up and it rattled her,” Gemma replied. “Told her she could shack up in Jax’s room for as long as she wanted.” At this, Luanne stared at her friend.

“Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Gemma?”

“What can I say? I’m turning over a new leaf. This shit with Abel’s got me thinking about things and the only time I can remember seeing Jax truly happy was when he was with her.”

“Fair enough.” Luanne was about to say more when they heard motorcycle engines and walked up to meet them.

“Hey you,” Clay smiled, pulling her close and kissing her, even as he squeezed her ass cheeks, causing her to chuckle as she deepened the kiss.

“Ugh. Get a room,” Jax groaned.

“Speaking of rooms. You’ve got a visitor in yours,” Gemma told him.

“Mom, if this is you trying to set me up with some dumbass crow-eater---”

“It’s Tara. She’s okay, someone just fucked her cutlass and she called me for a ride. Told her she could lay low here until we got things settled for her.” Without waiting to hear more, Jax headed for his room. Tara was here. Someone had scared her and she was here. He needed to figure out what was going on. He walked into his room and---let out a noise of surprise as he was grabbed and pulled close, Tara’s lips touching his.

“I’m glad you’re home,” she told him.

“Thanks,” he replied. “Mom said you had some trouble at work?” he queried.

“Yeah. Someone keyed and slashed the Cutlass,” she responded.

“What? Holy shit. Do they know who did it?” he wondered.

“No. I called her when I saw it. I just wanted to get out of there and everyone knows she has a better response time than the department,” she said, putting in a wry chuckle, hoping that it would make his worry disappear.

“We’ll get it taken care of. I promise,” he stated. For an answer, Tara kissed him again, quickly ripping his kutte and shirt off. Jax moaned as he reciprocated the kiss. Shit. He had been wanting this ever since he had found out she had come back. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’m yours. I’ve always been yours,” she told him. Hearing this, he quickly pulled her shirt off, lifted her up in his arms, walked her to the bed, placed her on it and pulled her jeans and panties off as he kicked off his shoes and then removed his jeans and boxers, straddling her, even as he reached for a box of condoms.

“No. I’m clean. And I trust you.” Jax entered her and Tara moaned as pain coursed through her, rocking as Jax began caressing her body, his fingers gentle but quick as they explored her body. She arched into his touch, her breaths becoming labored with longing and desire as his hands continued traveling over her body. Jax thrust deeper into Tara who dug her nails into his back. “Jax,” she moaned. Then, doctor and biker knew no more as their senses became filled with the other.

AUTHOR’S NOTE Retroceder means retreat. Well, according to Google Translate. If this is wrong, I apologize.


End file.
